New P-Card Use Began April 1
Don't forget that effective April 1, JPMorgan Chase is the Purchasing Card (P-Card) provider for Kent State University. The new P-Card is a JPMorgan Chase MasterCard, and all employees identified as a cardholder, reconciler, approver or system administrator must comply with 7-02.16, the university's administrative policy regarding use of the purchasing card. The policy and other procedures related to the P-Card are available on the Accounts Payable website.
Managers are reminded that a cardholder application must be completed and approved before a new card is issued. In addition, training for P-Card cardholders, reconcilers and approvers is mandatory and must be successfully completed before a P-Card is issued. If staff members in your unit have not completed the online training, they may do so atwww.kent.edu/hr/register.
You should also remind the reconcilers in your unit that JPMorgan Chase's electronic reporting solution, PaymentNet, will replace the Bank of America's Works application. All outstanding transactions with a post date through March 31, 2011 must be signed off within Works by 5 p.m. on April 22, 2011. If transactions are not appropriately allocated and approved within Works by the cut-off date, the departmental index and office supplies account (72017) will be charged the full amount of any outstanding transactions.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact Katie Brown or Rosa York at 330-672-2607 or payments@kent.edu.
Learn More About Proposed OPERS/STRS Changes
Legislation has been introduced in the Ohio General Assembly that would make changes to Ohio's pension benefit plans for the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS). Representatives from both systems will be on the Kent Campus on Tuesday, May 3 for informational meetings on the proposed changes.
The OPERS session will be held at 10 a.m. in the Student Center Kiva and the STRS session will be held at 1 p.m. in the same location. Each session will last approximately 75 minutes and will include a question-and-answer period. The sessions will also be streamed live on the Web and recorded for future viewing online.
More information, including links to the live stream, will be sent later this month to university employees who are OPERS and STRS members. Managers and supervisors are encouraged to allow employees to attend this session. Employees who do attend must take the appropriate leave time, which includes vacation or comp time.
Student Employee Updates
Departments who have student employees may begin hiring student workers for the summer, fall and fall-spring hiring terms on April 15, through CampusWorks. To determine the proper hiring term when offering jobs to student employees, you should refer to the Hiring and Assignment Dates. In addition, please remember that a student cannot begin work until they have met eligibility requirements, including the Credit Hour Enrollment Requirement. Once all requirements are met, supervisors and students will be sent a job confirmation email.
Departments are encouraged to show appreciation to their student employees during the week of April 10, which has been designated Student Employment Appreciation Week. Appreciation can include giving students a simple "thank-you," surprising students with a treat bag filled with food items, placing an ad in the Daily Kent Stater's special Student Employee Appreciation edition, or a number of other suggested Student Employee Recognition Ideas.
Please share this information with your staff members who are responsible for student workers. For more information, contact Ami Hollis, associate director, at 330-672-2360 or ahollis@kent.edu.
Performance Evaluations Continue
The performance evaluation period for classified employees is underway and will end on May 13. Performance evaluations for unclassified employees will begin April 19 and end on June 6.
Evaluators of unclassified staff will receive e-mail notification prior to the evaluation period start date that will include detailed information regarding the process and access instructions. There will also be a one-hour webinar on April 20, at 10 a.m. outlining the various unclassified evaluation models. You can register for the webinar atwww.kent.edu/hr/register.
New managers and supervisors are encouraged to view the one-hour webinar, originally broadcast Feb. 22, Assessing and Improving the Performance of Others, available at http://www.kent.edu/hr/employee/performance-evaluation-classified-manag… available at the same website is a one-hour webinar, Navigating the Online Performance Appraisal Process, originally broadcast on March 21. This presentation highlights the new look and enhancements to the online evaluation tool. There are also other training dates available.
If you have questions or need assistance, contact Employee Relations manager Karen Watsonat 330-672-4636 orkswatson@kent.edu; or Sandra Cole at scole3@kent.edu or 330-672-7501.
Administrative Professionals Day
The week of April 24 has been designated Administrative Professionals Week. The annual Kent State Office Support Staff Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, April 27 (the national observance of Administrative Professionals Day), from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.
Organized by the Division of Human Resources, this event recognizes the many university employees who provide office support in departments throughout Kent State's eight campuses. This event is by invitation only, and managers are asked to coordinate coverage in your unit so that those invited may attend. Please note this event is for the support staff and not for managers or supervisors. As a manager, you are encouraged to take some time during Administrative Professionals Week to recognize the support staff in your unit for all that they do throughout the year. For more information, contact Carla Wyckoff, HR communications manager, at 330-672-5857 or cwyckof1@kent.edu.
How Private Are Your Work Emails?
Employers across the country have routinely asserted that when it comes to employees' workplace e-mails — those transmitted or stored on a network provided by the employer — the content of those messages are not private. A federal court ruling in December 2010 has changed that way of thinking.
The ruling from the sixth circuit Court of Appeals held that a subscriber of Internet services enjoys a reasonable expectation of privacy in emails stored by a third party provider, such as the person's Internet service provider (ISP).
Kent State already recognizes the private nature of electronic mail communications. University policy 3342-9-01provides that "users and systems administrators shall respect the privacy of person-to-person communications in all forms including telephone, electronic mail and file transfers, graphics and television to the fullest extent possible under applicable law and policy."
Even though university policy recognizes the privacy of emails, it is not absolute. The university may access the emails and other person-to-person communications in the course of its normal supervision of the network or system (e.g., backing up electronic messages), or when exigent circumstances arise (e.g., evidence of reported violations of policies or laws). In addition, the university may receive public records requests that by law (the Ohio Public Records Act) will necessitate access to an employee's email files. When such requests occur, the university will make a good faith effort to notify the affected user.
Users of the Kent State network should be aware that the university cannot guarantee the absolute security and privacy of data stored on university computing facilities. Users should engage in safe computing practices including, but not limited to, establishing appropriate access restrictions for their accounts, guarding their passwords and changing them regularly, and backing up critical files when appropriate.
For more information on this topic, contact Connie Hawke, associate general counsel, at 330-672-2982 orchawke@kent.edu.
Learn More About Your Mail
Successfully Utilizing the Mail is the topic for the final Mail Services seminar of the spring semester. The seminar will be held on April 7 from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. in Room 320 of the Kent Student Center. Items to be discussed include presorted, automated and business reply mail and tips on how to get your mail opened and read. In addition, an overview of the upcoming postal rate increase, which goes into effect April 17, will be presented.
The seminar is free, but registration is requested. You can register online at www.kent.edu/hr/register. For additional information, contact Steve Finley at sfinley7@kent.edu or 330-672-8703.
One Community, One Mission: Support the Faculty and Staff Campaign
The annual Faculty and Staff Campaign launched April 4, providing the Kent State community with an opportunity to further the university's mission through philanthropic contributions to scholarships, academic programs, student life and research. The collective goodwill of our university community impacts the lives of current and future students and the quality of a Kent State education.
The campaign provides several options for giving to accommodate every budget and information is available atwww.givetokent.org. Please share this information with employees in your area. For more information, contact the Office of Annual Giving at 330-672-0434 or visit the campaign's website.
Dates to Remember:
April 7 Bowman Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Kent Student Center. For reservation information, contact Mary Mandalari at 330-672-8664 or mmandala@kent.edu.
April 7-8 Virginia Hamilton Conference, Kent Student Center. Visit http://virginia-hamilton.slis.kent.edu/index.html for more information.
April 17 Palm Sunday
April 18 Passover begins (at sundown)
April 22 Good Friday
April 24 Easter
April 26 Passover ends
April 27 Office Support Staff Celebration, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Student Center Ballroom. See related article for more information.
April 27 National observance of Administrative Professionals Day
May 1 Spring Semester classes end
Tell Us What You Think
This e-newsletter is designed to keep you, the managers and supervisors, informed. Please take a few minutes to let us know what you think of it, along with any comments or suggestions. You may contact us atmanagersfeedback@kent.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.
For information about events and programs for university employees, please check out the Faculty and Staff calendar and share the information with your staff.