The Chronicle's Great Colleges to Work For Survey
If you have not yet done so, please complete the Great Colleges Survey.
Kent State University is participating in The Chronicle's Great Colleges to Work For program, a study designed to recognize institutions that have built great workplaces.
Part of the program involves an employee survey distributed to a sample of each institution's full-time faculty, administrators, exempt, and nonexempt staff. An email invitation with a link to take this survey was distributed to a random selection of our employees on March 14, 2016 (Outlook users: you may want to check your Clutter folder to see if a survey invitation was routed there). The deadline to complete the survey is April 8, 2016.
Senior leadership extends a thank-you to those who have already completed the survey and appreciates your taking the time to share your views and opinions.
If you have not yet completed the survey, please take a moment to do so. We value your feedback. The results will be factored into the overall scoring process that will ultimately determine the institutions recognized. The Chronicle of Higher Education will publish the findings this summer in a special Academic Workplace supplement due to be released at the end of July.
Everyone's participation is encouraged! A high response rate helps to ensure accurate results and demonstrates the commitment of our workforce. Whether or not Kent State is recognized, we can learn from the feedback and make improvements for our future.
Thank you in advance for your participation. Please contact Fashaad Crawford, Ph.D., assistant provost for accreditation, assessment and learning, by email at fcrawfo1@kent.edu or by phone at 330-672-8560 if you have any questions.
Join the On the Move Challenge
As part of Kent State's commitment to building a culture of wellness, the university has been selected by the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) to participate in the On the Move Challenge . This is a workplace challenge where Kent State will compete with other employers in real time for a chance to be one of the top 100 most active workplaces in the country. We need you to help make this a reality.
All supervisors, managers and department heads are encouraged to join and support Team Kent State. By taking part in the challenge, we can all help carry our university to national recognition as a healthy workplace. Not only does this align with the university-level initiative to create a healthy campus, but all employees will benefit by learning simple ways to add more movement into their daily routine making for a healthier and more productive work environment.
Registration is open and takes only a few minutes to complete. Simply go to www.onthemovechallenge.welcoa.org and enter company code KentStateMoves to complete your profile. This challenge is open to all full- and part-time Kent State faculty and staff and officially begins April 4; however, late registration will be extended through April 10. After that date, it will not be possible to enter the challenge.
The Kent State challenge is being coordinated through the Division of Human Resources. If you have questions, contact Kim Hauge, manager, University Wellness and Healthy Campus Promotions, at 330-672-7505 or wellness@kent.edu. An internal Web page has also been set up for additional information regarding the challenge at www.kent.edu/hr/benefits/move-challenge.
DEADLINE EXTENDED -- Add Your Voice: Make a Difference at Kent State
The deadline has been extended to Friday, April 8, for you to help make a difference at Kent State University by sharing your experiences and observations working at the university as well as encouraging Kent State students to complete the survey.
Your promotion of the survey has made a difference. We are asking you to continue your personal conversations and encouragement of others.
- Take a few minutes today to complete the survey at www.kent.edu/voices.
- Encourage your colleagues and students to add their voice as well because every voice counts! It is particularly important that we hear from more of our students to get a representative sample.
- Encourage students in your class to complete the survey and consider using class time to allow them to take the survey on a laptop, cell phone or other device.
- If you advise a student organization, make a special effort to encourage members of that group to complete the survey.
- Reach out to students working in your office area and work together to allow student employees time to complete the survey while working, on the clock.
- Consider shortening staff meetings to allow for time for employees to complete the survey.
Your participation is confidential. For more information about the commitment to confidentiality of your answers, refer to FAQs 12 and 14. Kent State employees and students who complete the survey can choose to enter to win thank-you gifts.
If you have any questions, please contact one of the co-chairs of the Climate Survey Steering Committee: Kathy Wilson at kwilson3@kent.edu or Shay Little at sdlittle@kent.edu. Thank you for all your efforts to encourage participation!
Learn more about the climate survey at www.kent.edu/voices.
Don't Forget to Show Appreciation for Your Student Employees
We encourage all departments to show appreciation for their student employees during the week of April 10, designated Student Employment Appreciation Week. Express your appreciation by handing out simple thank-you cards, surprising students with a homemade treat or a number of other student employee recognition Ideas.
Another great way to show appreciation for your students is to place an ad in The Kent Stater's special edition of Student Employee Appreciation Week on Thursday, April 14. The ads also appear online on Kentwired.com. For more information on advertising, email ads@ksustudentmedia.com.
Get Ready to Hire!
Beginning Friday, April 15, employing departments may hire student employees for the summer, fall, and fall /spring hiring terms through CampusWorks. To determine the proper hiring term when offering jobs to student employees, you should refer to the Hiring and Assignment Dates. Additionally, please be reminded 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 receive a Job Confirmation email. Questions can be directed to Ami Hollis at 330-672-8380 or ahollis@kent.edu.
Title IX Training
The Office of Compliance will conduct its final Title IX training for the spring semester on April 28, for faculty and staff from 2-3 p.m., and for students from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Heer Hall, Conference Room 107. Please register to attend.
Mail Services Takes Package Shipping to a New Level!
Mail Services recently debuted a new software program on the Kent Campus. FlashPac allows departments to comparison shop shipping services, costs and deliveries for university ground packages with several different carriers, including Fed Ex, UPS, USPS and DHL. At this time the service is not available for overnight, express shipping.
FlashPac is accessible online at www.kent.edu/mailservices/flashpac. There, you will find a User's Guide and other information about the new service, as well as a link to the login page. We suggest reviewing the User's Guide before going online to ship.
Log in and follow the prompts to enter the shipping address and estimated weight of the package, then select the shipping vendor desired or Best Way to comparison shop. After selecting and submitting the shipping vendor, print the barcoded "traveler slip" and attach it to the package. Mail Services will receive electronic notification that a package is waiting for pick-up.
Mail Services will pick up the package, verify the weight and prepare it for shipping. When the package has shipped, Mail Services will notify the department of the exact rate and the tracking number. Orders placed by noon will be processed and shipped the same day.
Questions should be directed to Steve Finley at 330-672-8703 or sfinley7@kent.edu.
Dates to Remember:
April 4-10
National Public Health Week
April 7
World Health Day
April 7-8
Virginia Hamilton Conference, Kent Student Center. More information at www.kent.edu/cde/conferences/virginia-hamilton-conference-multicultural-literature-youth
April 10-16
National Student Employee Appreciation Week
April 18
Patriot's Day
April 22
Earth Day
April 27
Office Support Staff Luncheon (Administrative Professionals Day)
April 29
Arbor Day
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 at managersfeedback@kent.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.