College of Nursing Faculty Recognized as DAISY Award Recipients
Congratulations to College of Nursing faculty Lisa Davis, Kimberly Cleveland and Edward Herzog, who were recently recognized as 2019 DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Faculty Award recipients. Learn more.
Psychology Professor Brings International Perspective to Geauga Campus
Arne Weigold, Ph.D., was recently hired as a new tenure-track assistant professor teaching General Psychology and Perception in the Psychology Department at the Geauga Campus and Twinsburg Academic Center. Learn more.
Kent State to Test Mass Notification System
The safety of our community is our highest priority. To ensure that the university mass notification system is working properly and effectively, the University’s Department of Public Safety will conduct a test of the Kent Campus telephone and building speaker components on Sun., Dec. 22, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Several pre-recorded messages will be played during this test (Test, Active Threat, Tornado, All Clear). Once the testing begins, it should last no longer than 30 minutes.
This is only a test of the mass notification systems, and no shelter-in-place activities are required.
If you are on the Kent Campus during this time, the Department of Public Safety requests that you send feedback regarding the effectiveness of the test. Please reply via email to POLICE_SERVICES@kent.edu. The messages will have alert tones followed by pre-recorded messages. The messages will loop, so you may hear each one twice.
Again, please be aware that the university is conducting a test of the telephone and building speaker components of the mass notification system on the Kent Campus on Sun., Dec. 22, from – 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. This is only a test. Learn more.
Kent State's Office of Sustainability Encourages Winter Shutdown
To conserve energy, the Office of Sustainability reminds faculty, staff and building curators to turn off - and, if possible, unplug - all appliances before leaving for winter break.
Before leaving for winter break, everyone is encouraged to perform the following tasks:
- Turn off and unplug computers, copiers, appliances, peripherals and other electronics at the outlet to prevent "phantom" or "vampire" load. For instance, laptop power cords will still draw electricity while plugged in, even if the device is not turned on or attached to the power cord.
- Close all windows and shades. Set thermostats to 68 degrees. Please submit a request for items needing maintenance.
- Turn off all lights.
University Facilities Management will contribute to the energy conservation effort by adjusting some building systems.
These efforts can reduce costs of heating, ventilation and lighting, and plug loads on campus during winter break.
Note that during the 2018 winter break, the university avoided $31,000 in electric and steam costs over 9 days. The greenhouse gas emissions reduction was equal to taking more than 93 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.
For questions about the energy-saving winter shutdown, contact Melanie Knowles, Kent State's sustainability manager, at mknowle1@kent.edu or 330-672-8039.
Reminder: Schedule of December Paychecks
Faculty and salaried employees who are scheduled to receive their second pay of the month on December 31, will be paid on Mon., Dec. 23. All hourly employees and student workers will be paid on Fri., Dec. 20, as scheduled.
As always, all employees are strongly encouraged to sign up for direct deposit. Paychecks not picked up by 2 p.m. on Mon., Dec. 23, will be mailed to the address printed on the check. Employees receiving a paper check should review, and if necessary, update their address in Flashline. Accurate mailing addresses are critical. Checks lost in the mail cannot be replaced until January 10 at the earliest.
To update an address, log into Flashline and in the Employee Dashboard under Top Employee Resources select Employee Profile Dashboard and My Profile. In the address section click on the pencil in the upper right of the screen and select the address being changed. Once the changes have been made and the address is correct simply click the submit button.
Questions related to the December paychecks, or the early timecard approval, can be directed to the Payroll Office at 330-672-8640, or by email at payroll@kent.edu.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Employees of Kent State University may qualify for participation in the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Under this program, full-time employees can apply for forgiveness of certain types of student loans – possibly reducing or eliminating your debt.
For additional information and forms, access the Federal Student Aid Website. Please contact your loan servicer to determine your eligibility under this program. Once you have your paperwork completed, please forward the documents for employment verification to HR Records (staff members) or Academic Personnel (Faculty). Both offices are in Heer Hall.
You can also view this federal student aid document (PDF) for more information.
Important Information about Final Grading of Fall 2019
Online final grading for Fall 2019 Full Term (POT 1), Third 5 Weeks (F3), Second Half Semester (H2), and Second Seven Weeks (W2) began Fri., Dec. 6, via FlashFAST. Grading is also now available for any Fall 2019 course section that was flexibly scheduled. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Tues., Dec. 17. Any final grades for Fall 2019 courses not reported in FlashFAST by the grades processing deadline will have to be submitted using the Grade Change Workflow. These Fall 2019 courses will be available in the Workflow on Thurs., Dec. 19.
To access Final Grades via FlashFAST, log into FlashLine and click on the Faculty & Advisors Category / Faculty Dashboard / Grading Resources Section.
Blackboard Grading Process:
The Grade Push application has been developed as an option to assist in streamlining the university grading process. The use of this application is not mandatory, though it is encouraged. Grade Push will allow you to “push” the final grades recorded in Blackboard into our KSU Final Grade Roster, thus eliminating the time and effort spent manually entering them.
To access Grade Push, log into FlashLine and click on the Faculty & Advisors/Faculty Dashboard/Grading Resources.
If you have questions or concerns, please go to support.kent.edu and search “Grade Push.”
Incomplete Mark Workflow:
The instructor must create and submit an Incomplete Mark contract via the workflow. Instructors will no longer be able to select the incomplete mark (IB+, IC+, IC-, etc.) from the final grade roster in FlashFAST (Self-Service Banner). The primary instructor must initiate and submit the contract using this new workflow process, which mimics the old paper process. Once the contract has been accepted by the student and approved by the department chair/campus dean, the student’s grade will be updated automatically. The primary instructor will be able to initiate and submit the contract for a student after the deadline to withdraw (10th week of a regularly scheduled section in fall and spring, or prorated for flexibly scheduled sections) through the end of final grading.
Access the Incomplete Mark workflow in FlashLine from the Faculty Dashboard under Grading Resources or Faculty Workflows.
NF/SF Administrative Marks:
The administrative mark NF (Never Attended–Fail) denotes that the student neither attended one class session nor formally withdrew from the course. If a student has never attended your course, mark the student as “Not Started” on the Academic Presence Verification Roster, and the NF will automatically populate to your Final Grades roster.
The administrative mark SF (Stopped Attending–Fail) denotes that the student stopped attending the course and did not formally withdraw and must be accompanied by a date of last attendance in the course. If a student has stopped attending your course the SF can be entered on the Final Grade Roster along with the student’s last date of attendance.
For complete information on university grading policies including Incomplete Mark and NF/SF grading policies, procedures and timelines, please visit the Grading Policies and Procedures section in the University Catalog.
Grades Processing Tips and FAQs may be found on the Registrar's website. Any faculty member needing personalized instruction on submitting their grades via FlashFAST should contact their campus Registrar's Office during normal business hours for assistance.
Troubleshooting TIP: FlashFAST is accessible from any Internet-capable computer that has the cookies function enabled. We recommend that you clean out your cookie and cache files regularly to help your computer run faster, and to potentially restore and/or improve your access to FlashFAST and/or FlashLine by improving your connection to the server. Our Helpdesk is prepared to help with these issues. Please contact them at 330-672-HELP (4357) for one-on-one assistance and technical issues.
Dates to Remember
Dec. 13 - 14
Fall commencements
Dec. 22 – 30
Hanukkah, begins at sunset and runs through the evening of Jan. 1.
Dec. 25
Christmas Day
Dec. 26
Kwanzaa (through Jan. 1.)