Town Hall Meetings Set to Discuss Tobacco-Free University
This fall a universitywide committee was convened at the request of President Lester A. Lefton, to study a proposal that would make all Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ campuses tobacco free. This is in response to the recommendation from the Ohio Board of Regents that all public college and university campuses in Ohio become tobacco free.
The committee conducted a survey last fall, and has scheduled a series of Town Hall meetings this spring to gather additional input from the university community. The Town Hall sessions will be conducted at all campuses between Feb. 26 and March 14. Each session will last one hour, and faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.
View the schedule to find the meeting at your campus. Managers and supervisors are encouraged to coordinate work schedules so that employees from your unit who want to attend may do so.
It’s Performance Evaluation Time
Please make sure staff in your unit are aware that performance evaluations for classified and unclassified employees will take place in the coming months. March 20 through May 24 has been designated as the time to conduct the 2013 on-line performance assessment for classified employees. The period for unclassified performance evaluations is April 8through June 12.
Managers and supervisors of classified employees will receive e-mail notification prior to March 20 with detailed information regarding the process and access instructions. As a reminder, recent enhancements include a performance log that can be used by your employees throughout the year to record their accomplishments, trainings and discussions.
There are also two webinars available for supervisors and managers. Navigating the Online Assessment Tool will familiarize evaluators with the online assessment tool and will be offered on April 8, from 10-11 a.m. and again on April 23, from 10-11 a.m. Assessing and Improving the Performance of Others is a webinar for new managers and supervisors. This webinar will be offered on March 21, from 2-3 p.m.
You can register for any of these webinars at www.kent.edu/hr/employee/performance-evaluation-classified-managers.cfm. If you are unable to attend one of the sessions, they will be recorded and available for viewing a few days after the presentation.
If you would like an HR representative to come to your unit and present an overview of the evaluation process, contactKaren Watson, employee relations manager, at 330-672-4636 or kswatson@kent.edu.
If you have questions on the classified performance evaluations, contact Watson or SheaRon Daniels at 330-672-2726 or sdaniel4@kent.edu.
Student Employee Reminders
For departments with student workers, here are some spring semester reminders from Student Employment. For more information, contact Ami Hollis, associate director, Career Services, at 330-672-2360 or ahollis@kent.edu.
Student Employee Appreciation Week is April 7-13
We encourage all departments to show appreciation to their student employees during the week of April 7, 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 candy or healthy treats, placing an ad in The Daily Kent Stater’s special Student Employee Appreciation edition on April 12, or a number of other suggested Student Employee Recognition Ideas.
Summer and Fall/Spring Hiring begins on April 15
It is important to hire temporary summer employees through the most appropriate process — whether it is through Human Resources, Academic Personnel or Student Employment. If a potential temporary employee meets the credit hour enrollment requirement, they should be hired through student employment. A supervisor may verify whether a potential student employee meets the credit hour enrollment requirement by logging into CampusWorks and beginning the hiring process using the student’s FlashLine ID and selecting the hiring term. Once they click continue, if the student does not meet the enrollment requirement, a message will alert the hiring supervisor. You may also contact the Career Services Center at 330-762-2360 for enrollment verification.
Hiring High School Students
If your department plans on hiring a high school student, they must be hired via the paper Student Job Hiring Formavailable in the Career Services Center Forms Library. This is for students who are attending high school, taking classes at Â鶹¾«Ñ¡through the Post-Secondary Education Option Program, or graduating this spring and plan to start at Â鶹¾«Ñ¡in the fall.
Spring Employee Recognition Events
Mark your calendars now for the university’s two annual spring employee recognition events. The Office Support Staff Luncheon will be held April 24, in the Kent Student Center Ballroom. This program recognizes university employees who provide office support in departments throughout Kent State’s campuses. Invitations will be mailed the first week in April. Managers and supervisors are asked to coordinate work coverage in their units so those who are invited may attend.
The 20-Year Club dinner will take place on Wednesday, May 22, in the Kent Student Center. There are 13 staff members who will mark 20 years of continuous service at Â鶹¾«Ñ¡during the current fiscal year. The list of inductees and more details on the dinner will be available next month on the 20-Year Club website.
For more information on either event, contact Rachael Decker at rdecker4@kent.edu.
Standard Post and USPS Tracking
Along with the January price increase, came some other news:
- Standard Post is the new name for Parcel Post.
- USPS Tracking replaces Delivery Confirmation.
The Post Office is now offering FREE Tracking on packages shipped Priority or Standard Post. A new label No. 400 is being provided by the Post Office to accomplish this.
This label should be affixed to any Standard Post parcels or Priority Mail pieces without a tracking barcode. Place on same side as address, but not in the address panel.
Peel off and affix the top portion to the package and save the bottom for your records. To track, go to , click on Track and Confirm and enter your tracking number when prompted.
Questions can be directed to Steve Finley at Mail Services, 330-672-8703 or sfinley7@kent.edu. A supply of the Label 400 can be obtained by emailing your request to Finley.
Dates to Remember:
Women’s History Month
March 8 International Women’s Day
March 10 Daylight Saving Time begins
March 17 St. Patrick’s Day
March 20 Spring begins
March 24 Palm Sunday
March 25-April 2 Passover
March 25-31 Spring Recess
March 29 Good Friday
March 31 Easter
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.