June 2017
Volume 14 | Issue 11
Cellular Device Authorization Renewals Due in June
In April and May, each vice president identified employees who will no longer be eligible for a cellphone stipend as of July 1, 2017. Over half of the employees who received stipends in Fiscal Year 2017 are no longer eligible for Fiscal Year 2018. No email reminders will be issued to stipend recipients. So in order to avoid confusion, it is important that managers remind their eligible employees to submit the workflow for renewal.
Each employee who remains eligible for a cellphone stipend or university-owned cellular device must complete the workflow, including all required approvals, by Monday, June 26. The payroll effective date for stipend renewals is July 1.
General questions regarding cellular device authorization should be directed to Procurement at 330-672-2276 or procurement@kent.edu. Questions regarding authorization for employees paid from a sponsored project should be directed to Debra Leonard at 330-672-0988 or dleonard@kent.edu.
Don't Forget the Fiscal Year-End Deadlines
Managers and supervisors should have received information from the Controller's Office regarding the cut-off dates for financial transactions for the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30. View the deadlines for receipt of information and other online. The Controller's Office appreciates timely submissions of documents to ensure that a timely year-end cut-off has occurred.
The Fiscal Year 2017 year is scheduled to close the evening of July 14, 2017, and the final June FlashLine reports should be available to departments the morning of July 17, 2017.
Expense Reimbursements
Travel or miscellaneous expenses incurred on or before June 30 are considered Fiscal Year 2017 activity. To ensure these expenses are recorded in the appropriate fiscal year, expense reimbursements must be approved by the final approver on or before June 28, 2017. Any expense Year 2017 activity.
Travel and/or miscellaneous expenses that span both fiscal years and/or incurred after June 30 should be considered new fiscal year activity. Therefore, these expense reimbursements should be processed and approved after June 28, 2017.
Purchasing Cards
All P-Card reconciliations for the June cycle must be completed by July 7, 2017. All transactions that are not fully reconciled (allocated, reviewed and approved) by 5 p.m. by this date will be charged to your departmental index under office supplies (72017). In addition, the P-Card will be suspended for noncompliance, and the cardholder and/or approver will be required to repeat purchasing card cardholder or approver training before the card can be reinstated.
Compensated Absences
All compensated absences should be both reported and approved no later thanJuly 3, 2017, for any remaining Fiscal Year 2017 activity.
KSU Foundation
The 5XÉçÇø Foundation reminds department heads that June 16 is the deadline to submit any funding requests for the current fiscal year. This will ensure that the transfer of foundation funds to a university index will be recorded in Fiscal Year 2017. All requests must be submitted using the Foundation Funding Request form and must have the appropriate signatures and documentation. For more information, contact Yvonne Lee at 330-672-1077.
Please continue to review and reconcile your monthly FlashLine reports to ensure all transactions are complete and proper. If you encounter any issues or discrepancies, please contact the appropriate finance department below to resolve them. This includes any issues involving your budget, your actual YTD transactions and your encumbrances.
Budget transactions (position and nonposition) and transfers
Budget Office 2-3750
Credit Card Expense Allocations, Expense Reimbursements, Check Requests, and other A/P transactions
Accounts Payable 2-2607
IDCs/COR entries
Contact the initiating department and/or Controller's Office 2-2392
Other Journal Entries
Controller's Office 2-2392
Payroll entries
Payroll Office 2-8640
Requisitions, Purchase Orders and Related Encumbrances
Procurement 2-2276
Student Receivable Accounting entries
Student Receivable Accounting 2-8635
Let's Clear the Air: One Month and Counting
Don't forget that beginning July 1, Kent State will become a smoke-free, tobacco-free university at all locations. The was approved in May 2016 by the Board of Trustees and aligns with the university-level initiative to create a healthy campus environment for all employees, students and visitors. Please be sure to share the following information with faculty and staff in your area.
The policy covers all Kent State campuses, locations and properties, both domestic and international and applies to all members of the university community: students, employees, volunteers, vendors, visitors and customers.
Under the policy, all smoking will be prohibited. This includes electronic smoking devices, mod boxes or electronic nicotine delivery systems that create an aerosol or vapor. Also prohibited will be the use of nicotine, tobacco-derived or plant-based products and oral tobacco.
Members of the university community who are thinking about kicking the tobacco habit should visit the tobacco-free, smoke-free website at. There you will find a variety of resources for faculty and staff including smoking cessation apps, nicotine replacement therapy information for employees, and internal cessation resources for students and employees as well as external cessation resources by county.
The website also has more information on the policy, enforcement and FAQ.
Questions should be sent to smokefree@kent.edu.
Summit Street Improvement Project: Section to Close for Summer
Work will continue this summer on the second phase of the Summit Street: Building a Better Way Improvement Project, making enhancements to the road between Lincoln Street and Fraternity Circle. This will result in two road closures on a portion of Summit and South Lincoln streets, beginning Tuesday, May 30. Weather or other factors could delay the closure date.
Summit Street
In order to perform utility and roadwork, Summit Street will be closed to east- and west-bound through traffic between Willow Street and Morris Road. The roadway is expected to reopen in August prior to the start of Fall Semester 2017.
During the closure, access to buildings and parking lots in the construction area will be maintained, as well as accessibility for emergency vehicles and local traffic. Summit Street in front of the Kent Student Center, Bowman Hall and the Schwartz Center will remain open to two-way traffic.
The eastbound detour will be south on South Water Street/State Route 43, left on State Route 261 to Summit Street. The westbound detour will remain the same.
Lincoln Street
South Lincoln Street will be closed to through traffic from 528 S. Lincoln to College Street. The closure will begin May 30, and the road will reopen to through traffic upon completion. The northbound and southbound detour will utilize the following streets: East School, Vine, Summit, Willow and College.
The closures will affect the PARTA Stadium Loop route, which will follow the Lincoln Street detour. The bus stop at the Center for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement will be offline for the summer.
Electronic message boards will be operational to advise motorists of the closures and detours. View a map of the closure area.
Motorists should allow extra time to get to their destination and should watch out for workers in the construction area, especially when experiencing sun glare.
Project updates are available at .
For more information, contact the Kent City Engineering Office at 330-678-8106.
DocuSign Comes to 5XÉçÇø
In the coming weeks, 5XÉçÇø will be launching our use of DocuSign's electronic signature solution.
The Division of Human Resources foresees all new hires and employees using DocuSign to complete all paperwork and forms starting in June. The university is adopting DocuSign to accomplish the following:
•Shorten the employee on-boarding process
•Increase your productivity and reduce administration time
•Reduce paperwork error rates and rework
•Save on paper
•Make it easier for our customers to do business with us
All training materials will be available online.
HR Records is sure you will enjoy using DocuSign as part of your daily work, and we look forward to seeing 100 percent adoption so we can take advantage of the many benefits DocuSign provides.
Look for additional information about the university's implementation of DocSign in e-Inside and Management Update, as well as on FlashLine and the HR Records website.
Vacation Cut Back
This message is being sent to all Kent State employees who are eligible to earn vacation, but who are also at risk of losing any vacation hours over the policy maximum. This is an informational message only and does not necessarily mean that you will have your vacation hours cut back.
According to vacation policy 6-11.7 the maximum amount of vacation an employee can carry over is that which can be earned in a three-year period. Each year, at the end of September, vacation balances are cut back to the maximum accrual allowed per the policy.
Vacation hours are earned each pay period, and your accrual rate varies according to your years of service and your type of appointment (i.e., classified or unclassified status). An explanation of vacation accrual rates, eligibility and usage is explained in more detail at .
It is difficult to determine who will definitely be affected by the cutback because of the accruals and use of vacation time that will occur between now and Sept. 30.
To determine your current accrual, please take a few minutes to view your leave balances in FlashLine. Once you have logged in, click on Employee and then click on Dashboard. Once you are in your Dashboard, in the Top Employee Resources panel, click on Employee Profile Dashboard and compare your balance with the Vacation Leave Accrual chart that can be found at the website listed above.
Please make sure that all of your leave is being deducted correctly and you are not in danger of going over your three-year vacation accrual maximum. If you are, please remember that you must use that time by Sept. 30; if not, you will lose any vacation hours accrued beyond the maximum.
Unclassified staff, please be aware that if you have unapproved leave in the online leave system, it has not yet been deducted from your leave balance.
If you have questions, please contact a member of the Records unit at 330-672-8316.
LawRoom Has Arrived at Kent State
What is LawRoom? LawRoom is Everfi's Learning Management System (LMS) that offers online award-winning training and development courses. The training provides faculty and staff with important skills related to building interpersonal awareness in an inclusive workplace using interactive scenarios.
LawRoom easily tracks courses and offers a variety of training opportunities, such as Title IX, FERPA and HIPPA. The online system will be accessible to all employees and will accommodate all shifts. LawRoom training meets the Beyond Compliance requirement.
Please contact Human Resources' Training and Development Department if you have questions regarding LawRoom's Learning Management System at hrd@kent.edu or call Renee Romine at 330-672-0898.
New Online Option for Title IX Beyond Compliance Training
5XÉçÇø is collaborating with LawRoom to provide award-winning online Title IX training to all full- and part-time faculty and staff. The training will be available starting with the new fiscal year. The online process has made the training more accessible and convenient across the eight campuses. As a result, we are requiring one of the two Beyond Compliance hours be Title IX training.
Although the Division of Human Resources offers a blend of options for Title IX training, the web and facilitator-led Title IX courses are eligible for 1.0 hour of Beyond Compliance training. See course options below:
• Online web course titled Bridges: Building a Supportive Community, (in LawRoom). The course will be assigned to all faculty and staff via email with a link to use your FlashLine login and password.
• Facilitator-led Title IX workshops (checkfor upcoming workshops).
The Title IX sessions are intended to give participants an overview of the university's 5-16.2 policy on gender discrimination, gender/sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking and intimate partner violence. Facilitator-led workshops will also cover:
• What is Title IX?
• Defining sexual harassment/sexual misconduct;
• How and where to report issues related to Title IX;
• Statistics on sexual violence;
• Your role as a Kent State employee
• The university's responsibility; and
• What happens after a Title IX issue is reported?
If you have any questions related to the university's Title IX process, policy and procedures, please visit our webpage .
For questions or comments regarding Title IX training, contact Bonita Prewitt, Gender Equity Compliance Officer/Title IX Coordinator at bprewit2@kent.edu , or call 330-672-7535. Please contact the Training and Development department regarding registration concerns at hrd@kent.edu.
Institute for Excellence Accepting Applications
The Division of Human Resources is now accepting applications for the Institute for Excellence (I4E) until June 15, 2017. The Institute for Excellence is the university's premier leadership program. According to the Human Resources LEAD Awards, 5XÉçÇø's Institute for Excellence program ranks eighth in the nation in the category of certificate programs with emphasis on leadership and organizational development.
The Institute for Excellence will begin in September 2017. The program has two tracks, the Administrators and Individual Contributors. The Administrator track is for faculty or staff who supervise others. The Individual Contributor track is for employees who do not supervise but have a desire sharpen their leadership skills. Both tracks are for high performers and focus on the core leadership qualities associated with collaboration, coaching, communication, trust, emotional intelligence, resiliency and more.
Employee eligibility requirements include:
• Must be at the university a minimum of one year
• Must have received a rating of meets expectations or higher on the most recent performance evaluation
• Approval by direct supervisor to attend
The includes a complete list of criteria and other important information.
Interested faculty and staff should read the online application worksheet and complete the online application form. Human Resources' Training and Development Department will notify applicants selected for the Institute for Excellence in late June.
For more information, contact Renee Romine at 330-672-0898 or Wendy Gold at 330-672-0899. You can also email hrd@kent.edu. Administrators . Individual Contributors .
2017 Performance Evaluations
Performance evaluations for classified and unclassified employees are currently taking place.
Online performance evaluations for classified employees will take place through June 16. Unclassified employees will conduct evaluations throughJune 23.
As a reminder, access is available to the performance log employees and supervisors can use throughout the year to record personal accomplishments, training and discussions.
A pre-recorded webinar titled is available to assist employees with completing evaluations.
More information is available at the
If your department is interested in having a Human Resources representative present an overview of the evaluation process in person, please call Karen Watson at 330-672-4636 or email kswatson@kent.edu.
Lunch and Learn: Handling Credit and Debt Wisely (Streaming webinar available)
On Tuesday, June 13, from noon to 1 p.m.,the Employee Wellness Team will host a financial wellness workshop on handling credit/debt wisely. Employees may attend at Heer Hall, limited seating is available, or via live streaming. This workshop will cover basic information about managing credit, good versus bad debt, and what to do if facing a serious financial problem. Discussion will include:
• Why credit is an important tool for reaching financial goals.
• How to manage debt in order to build your credit rating.
• Various types of loan products and how they each work
• Interest rates associated with various loan products
• How to create "Power Payment System" for paying down debt
Please share this information with faculty and staff in your area. Registration is required whether attending in person at Heer Hall or via live streaming. Follow registration links below:
. Space is limited.
If you have questions, you may contact Kim Hauge, director, Employee Wellness at 330-672-7505 or Sandra Cole at 330-672-7501 or wellness@kent.edu.
"Know Your Numbers" - Final On-site Health Screening for 2017
As part of the , full-time, benefits-eligible employees are invited to attend the final on-site health screening Thursday, June 15, from 7:30 - 10:30 a.m. at Heer Hall on the Kent Campus. Employees also have the option to obtain their health screening with their primary care physician's office by June 30, 2017.
By completing a health screening (on-site or with your physician) and the online health risk assessment, employees are eligible to receive $150 added to their pay as a .
Completing Your Tier One Activities - Deadline is June 30
If your health screening is completed on-site with Be Well Solutions, 5XÉçÇø's wellness partner, it will automatically be loaded into your personal portal. If your health screening is completed in your physician's office, please log in to the Be Well portal, under My Wellness, select Wellness Reward Program, print the 1-Physician Screening form and take it with you to your appointment. Your completed form should then be submitted to Be Well Solutions using the address on the form (please do not submit to the Employee Wellness Office).
Please note that all Tier One requirements MUST be completed by June 30, 2017. Employees may be working on their simultaneously with Tier One, but cannot receive their Tier Two $150 incentive until Tier One requirements are complete.
How to Schedule Your Appointment
• Log in to your private Be Well portal at . If you have never logged in to Be Well, there are special instructions for first-time access at .
• Once you are logged in, select My Appointments, then Worksite Screening. Choose the date and location that best fits your schedule. Please keep in mind that you will need to fast for 8 to 10 hours prior to your health screening and blood draw via a finger prick.
• To complete your online health risk assessment while logged in to Be Well, select My Wellness and then select Health Risk Assessment.
For questions regarding the Be Well portal or wellness point tracking, employees may contact Be Well directly at 1-888-WEL-SERV (935-7378). To register for a variety of wellness activities, visit the today.
Child Car Seat Safety Inspection - June 20
Did you know that four out of five car seats are installed incorrectly? Make sure your child's car seat is installed correctly.
Employee Wellness is pleased to co-host another car seat safety inspection onTuesday, June 20, from 3-6 p.m. at the Kent State Child Development Center, located at 775 Loop Road in Kent.
Car seats are inspected by Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians from Portage County Health Dept. Safety inspection may take anywhere from five to 30 minutes. Children do not need to be present, but you may bring them if you wish. There will also be a mini health fair at the event
Bring your vehicle owner's manual and your child safety seat with the owner's manual, if available.
This event is sponsored by the 5XÉçÇø Employee Wellness, Kent State Police Department and Portage County Health Department. Kent State employees, students and the surrounding community are invited to participate.
For questions regarding this event, please contact Kim Hauge, director, Employee Wellness at 330-672-7505 or wellness@kent.edu.
Dates to Remember:
National Caribbean American Heritage Month
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month
June 6
D-Day
June 9
Summer Intersession classes end
May 30 - June 1
Shavuot
June 12
Summer I and Summer II classes begin
June 14
Flag Day
June 18
Father's Day
June 21
First day of summer (summer solstice)