University policy requires that every academic appointee (as well as students and staff) receive a unique University ID number (UID). However, when new people are brought in, records often get created in campus systems — like Opus — before they have a UID. This means that once they get a UID, these systems need to be updated. To minimize this "backtracking," it’s best to get a UID as soon as possible. As soon as you know someone is coming to ucla, you can get them a UID, and you can do this in Opus.
Before you get started, you should also know that the Employee Data Base (EDB) and Opus are still separate systems. For now it's “business as usual” and you might still enter information twice. However, being able to request a UID in Opus may allow you to get that number sooner and avoid having to work with someone without a UID (or with a "placeholder"). The reason it allows you to query EDB is to avoid having duplicate UIDs for people who have been here before.
This article tells you how to request a UID in Opus. The instructions assume you’re already logged into Opus and your permissions allow you to access the relevant features. For info about interface elements or a particular Opus page, check out the other articles on this support site — some of these articles are linked near the bottom of this page.
1. Open the Request a UID Page
Navigate to the Request a UID page by clicking "Jump To" and then "Request a UID" near the top of any Opus page.
The Request a UID page with the Opus Top Menu and Jump To submenu. Click this image to view a larger version.
2. Click the Request a UID Button
This button is visible in the above screenshot. It’s light blue and it sits just above the table, near the left edge of the page: click it and a modal window will open:
The Recruit Search screen of the Request a UID modal window. Click this image to view a larger version.
3. Find Your Academic Appointee in Recruit
UID requests are always linked to records in Recruit, so you’ll need the candidate's (appointee's) Recruit job number in order to find them. Enter that in the search field and click “Go.” Search results will show up in a list below the input field. If nothing shows up after a few seconds, check your search input and try again. Check the box next to the one you want and click the Next button.
Opus will then ask you for the person’s gender and birthday — this is to make sure you’ve found the correct person:
The Recruit Search screen of the Request a UID modal window. Click this image to view a larger version.
Finish by clicking the Submit button as shown in the above screenshot. The modal window will disappear
4. Verify in the Table
Now double-check that the request has been logged by finding the person for whom you just requested the UID in the data table on the Request a UID page. Type some part of their name in the “Search” field near the top-left corner of the table and verify that they show up in the list (if you’ve already filtered the table in a column, you may have to clear that filter first).
If the person doesn’t show up in the table now, reload the page and try again. If they still don’t show up, try requesting the UID one more time.
Once they show up in the table, you must wait for an Opus admin to update their UID — you can check back to make sure that happens.
See Also
How Do I Tell If a UID Was Created?
Can I Request a UID Without a Social Security Number?