Cardinal Enrollment
About Cardinal
Cardinal HCM (Human Capital Management) is the online system used by the Commonwealth of Virginia to administer health benefits. Employees can use this system to enroll in health insurance and flexible spending accounts as new employees, during Open Enrollment, or during certain Qualifying Mid-Year events. The maroon "Cardinal HCM" button on the top of this page links directly to the Cardinal website.
Registration
If it is your first time using Cardinal, you will first need to register as a new user. View the steps for registration.
To register for Cardinal, you will need your 11-digit Cardinal ID Number. This can be found by visiting HokieSpa, selecting the Hokie Team tab, and then selecting Employment Information. There you will see your Cardinal ID number as well as your Virginia Tech ID number.
Learn how to activate your FSA Mastercard.
Enrollment
You can use Cardinal to enroll as a new employee. As a new employee, you should already have an open benefits enrollment event set up for you in Cardinal. Below are the steps to access your enrollment event:
- Log in to my.cardinal.virginia.gov
- Select "Cardinal Human Capital Management (HCM)" under Cardinal Applications
- Select "Benefit Details"
- Select "Benefits Enrollment." If you are still within your 30-day new hire enrollment deadline, you should see an open benefits enrollment here. If you do not, please contact Human Resources.
- Make your selections on each tab within the benefits enrollment. Select "done" on each tab to go back to the main enrollment screen.
- Once you have finished with all of your selections, select the green "Submit Enrollment" button. Your elections will not be processed if you do not click this button.
Employees can also utilize Cardinal to enroll or make changes for certain Qualifying Mid-Year events, including marriage, birth of a child, adoption of a child, and divorce. To enroll based on one of these events, you will need to click on the Benefit Details tab, and then click on Life Events. Next, choose the appropriate event, and follow the steps given for enrollment. Changes for all other qualifying mid-year events not listed here must be made by completing the State Benefits Enrollment Form and submitting it to Human Resources. We recommend utilizing the secure online dropbox to submit.
Cardinal can also be utilized to make any changes to your health plan and/or Flexible Spending Account(s) during Open Enrollment. View the Open Enrollment steps.
Cardinal FAQs
Q: The amount per pay period that is showing for my health insurance and/or FSA in Cardinal is too high. Is this the correct amount?
A: Cardinal shows the breakdown for 12 pay periods, because this is what many other state agencies use. However, at Virginia Tech we have 24 pay periods, and your cost will be split up as such. Also, we do not use Cardinal for payroll, so there is no need for concern about the amount that shows.
Q: Cardinal lists my 403b as "waived." I enrolled in a 403b. What should I do?
A: Some other state agencies use Cardinal for all benefits, however Virginia Tech only utilizes Cardinal for health insurance and Flexible Spending Accounts. Any other benefit information in Cardinal is inaccurate and can be disregarded.
Q: Under my personal information, Cardinal lists my marital status as "single." I am married. How can I change this?
A: The "single" status on the Personal Information page is the default setting. It has no impact on your health benefits or dependents. If you would like this updated, please contact Human Resources, however it has no effect on your benefits.
Q: My address in Cardinal is incorrect. How can I change this?
A: Please update your address in HokieSpa. This will feed to Banner, which will feed to Cardinal. Finally, this information feeds to your health insurance company. This process usually happens over 1-2 business days. If you have already changed your address in HokieSpa and it is still not correct in Cardinal, please contact Human Resources.
Q: I forgot my password for Cardinal, or it expired. When I click "forgot password," I don't get the email to reset my password. What should I do?
A: In this case, you will need to contact the Cardinal HelpDesk at vccc@vita.virginia.gov. Be sure to include "Cardinal" in the subject line.
Q: I enrolled in health insurance in Cardinal, and I enrolled my dependents, but they are showing as "unapproved." What does that mean?
A: When employees add dependents in Cardinal, they will show as "unapproved" until Human Resources at Virginia Tech receives supporting documentation for each dependent. Upon receiving these documents, a member of the benefits team will go into Cardinal and manually approve your dependents.