Accounting Prof Wins American Accounting Association/J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize
Professor Wendy Tietz, Ph.D., CPA, CMA, professor of accounting, received the prestigious 2020 American Accounting Association/J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize.
The prize is the foremost recognition of an individual who consistently demonstrates the attributes of a superior teacher in the discipline of accounting. The award serves to applaud outstanding professors while simultaneously inspiring professors to strive for the status of an outstanding professor. Learn more.
Women’s Center Urges Mammogram Screening
The Women’s Center has proudly offered mammograms on campus twice a year for over 10 years. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Women’s Center is unable to offer mammograms that were originally scheduled for early October. Fortunately, the Women’s Center hopes to resume them in the spring semester. Although screenings are not currently available on campus, there are plenty of other affordable and convenient options available.
Mammograms can save your life, so don’t skip out on your yearly screening!
The American Cancer Society estimates that since 1989 more than half a million breast cancer deaths have been prevented in the United States thanks to mammography and improvements in treatment. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Detecting breast cancer early can reduce your risk of dying from the disease by as much as 25 – 30 percent. It is recommended that the average woman should begin getting her annual mammogram at age 40. A mammogram is a fast procedure with minimal discomfort. They normally take around 20 minutes to complete, so you can easily fit an appointment into your busy schedule. Overall, a small price to pay for a potentially life-saving screening.
Please check out the links below for more information and to find a facility offering mammograms near you.
Cleveland Clinic Walk-in/Appointment Locations
A list of facilities offering free mammograms to those who qualify
Informative Websites
- Infographic: 7 Things to Know About Getting a Mammogram
- Breastcancer.org - Breast Cancer Information and Support
Webinar Burnout Strategies for Educational Professionals
It's a reality that burnout is high in the educational arena for educational leaders and administrative staff. Compassion fatigue and basic physical weariness take their toll. Are you having to do more with less? How do you maintain productivity standards and prevent fatigue? Are there really coping mechanisms which provide successful solutions for educational leaders? The answer is yes. With the right strategies, educational leaders, faculty, and staff can cope and thrive! If this sounds all too familiar this webinar is for you.
The presenter, Debra Saffo, is President of The NiKhar Group - an educational curriculum and workforce company she established after being sought after to develop and conduct professional development for educational and business organizations. Debra brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the area of workforce development and curriculum services.
This webinar will take place on Wed., Nov. 4, from noon to 1 p.m., and it is open to all full- and part-time faculty and staff. Click here to register.
Zoom Rooms to the Rescue!
New Grant Funds Expanded Remote Learning Capabilities at Kent State Geauga
What’s a Zoom Room? It’s an innovative delivery method for an effective college education during a pandemic via remote instruction. Zoom Rooms are providing the way forward for local students seeking to further their education at the Kent State University Geauga Campus in Burton.
Proving that "necessity is the mother of invention,” the COVID-19 pandemic is revolutionizing the norms of a college education. At Kent State Geauga, it also provides an opportunity for the university to fulfill its mission in unique ways. This Fall Semester 2020, Kent State Geauga students have a new Zoom Room to transition from face-to-face courses to instruction that is delivered over the internet through the Zoom videoconferencing application.
Thanks to a grant from the Cleveland Foundation’s Lake-Geauga Fund, “The new Zoom Room was created with the intent to expand remote synchronous teaching options,” explains Lance Williams, Director of Operations and Special Projects at Kent State Geauga. “The campus in Burton only had one Zoom Room at the time and so this opportunity allowed us to increase our ability to deliver courses synchronously.”
Students taking remote courses can be taught over their laptops in the comfort and safety of their own homes by their instructor, who lectures from one of these Zoom Rooms on campus.
Additionally, Zoom Rooms provide cost savings throughout the Kent State system. If a course is offered at a different regional campus, students enrolled at Kent State Geauga can attend class via the Zoom Room and receive instruction from the campus offering that course. The same applies to students at other campuses to receive Kent State Geauga’s Zoom courses.
The grant proposal, titled, “The Digital Nexus: Supporting KSU Students in Need,” totaled $20,000, with $10,000 allocated for the creation and maintenance of the new Zoom Room and the remaining $10,000 for financial support to students experiencing hardships during COVID-19. The grant period runs from May 4 through October 31, 2020.
Foreseeing increased demand on their existing Zoom Room last spring, administrators at Kent State Geauga requested funding for the additional Zoom Room to be completed in time for fall classes.
“The pandemic gave institutions the opportunity to adapt and offer courses and student services in unique ways,” Williams says. “Students now have more choices when it comes to their academic experience and we expect them to want these choices going forward.”
With her eye toward the future, Dean and Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Angela Spalsbury says that Kent State Geauga needs to adapt to the realities of the pandemic by providing innovative instruction that allows students to take courses anywhere. Due to their versatility, additional Zoom Rooms will be required to expand course delivery options in the future.
"Without the grant support of forward-thinking partners such as the Cleveland Foundation's Lake-Geauga Fund, we would be less able to prepare for these anticipated needs," she says. "We are deeply grateful for their commitment to local students' success during this difficult time."
Williams says that this technology gives instructors more opportunities to teach during this era of social distancing. Multi-purpose in nature, these rooms can be used for Zoom courses, remote instruction courses and/or live, face-to-face courses, as well. Instructors can:
(1) use a Zoom Room to teach and stream their synchronous course to end-users (students) at home;
(2) pre-record some supplemental learning content in the Zoom Room and upload these instructional resources to the learning management system (Blackboard Learn); or
(3) offer Kent State Geauga students with face-to-face courses delivered from another campus in the Kent State system.
Whichever way the Zoom Rooms are used, they serve to further the university’s mission:
At Kent State University, we transform lives and communities through the power of discovery, learning, and creative expression in an inclusive environment. We seek to be a community of change agents whose collective commitment to learning sparks epic thinking, meaningful voice, and invaluable outcomes to better our society.
--Estelle R. Brown
Kent State University Employee Self-ID Process
As a federal contractor, Kent State University (KSU) is required to report statistical data to the department of labor and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
Therefore, KSU currently offers race, ethnicity, disability and veteran self-identification (self-ID) participation for faculty, classified and unclassified employees. The Office of Compliance, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action extends the invitation for these employees to voluntarily self-ID their race, ethnicity, disability and veteran statuses.
We hope you will participate in this voluntary process to help Kent State University determine the diversity in our workforce and maintain an inclusive and diverse workplace. This information is confidential and is restricted to staff in the Office of Compliance, EOAA for the purposes of federal compliance obligations and our HR Records staff for Banner recordkeeping purposes. The information does not become part of your personnel record, nor is it used in any decision-making process related to employment.
To access the self-ID links, please follow the instructions below. Any inquiries can be directed to the Office of Compliance, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action at aa_eeo@kent.edu or 330-672-2038.
Log into Flashline, select settings (left side of navigation bar), scroll down to the secure account access section and look for the following links:
• View or Update Veterans Classification
• View or Update Ethnicity & Race
• View or Update Disability Status
This voluntary self-identification process will end on Fri., Oct. 30, 2020.
Campus Dining Wants Your Feedback
University Dining Services is conducting a survey to better understand your satisfaction with the changes made to the campus dining program under the COVID-19 pandemic. By sharing your experiences, Dining Services will gain valuable insight to help improve your overall experience.
This online survey will take no more than 10 minutes and your responses are confidential. At the end of the survey you will have an opportunity to enter your contact information if you wish to be entered into a drawing for a $150 e-card, or a $50 e-card.
The survey is mobile-friendly and can be taken on a smartphone, mobile device or a computer.
Open Enrollment Kickoff Presentation
Employee Benefits and Wellness
The Open Enrollment Employee Benefits and Wellness Kickoff Forum will be held virtually on Wed., Oct. 14, from 9 - 11 a.m. Your link to access the virtual presentation is www.kent.edu/zoomopenenrollment.
Join your University Benefits Mythbusters Team to discover more about your healthcare plan options, find your best fit, learn when and how to make any changes to your benefits for 2021, and hear about upcoming employee wellness opportunities for YOU in 2021!
There will be time allotted during the virtual presentation to submit questions to the presenters. The presentation will also be recorded so employees who are unable to attend the live presentation can view the recorded version from the University Benefits website beginning the week of October 19. The video will be available throughout the Open Enrollment period.
For your planning purposes, please note the Open Enrollment period will begin Monday, October 19 and will end at 4:59 pm on Friday, November 6, 2020. All changes are effective January 1, 2021. Click here for more information.
Faculty and staff with questions regarding benefit choices for 2021 may contact the University Benefits Office at 330-672-3107 or benefits@kent.edu. Questions related to employee wellness programming or rewards may be directed to 330-672-0392 or wellness@kent.edu.
Important Information Regarding Fall 2020 Midterm Grading for all lower-division undergraduate courses
Online midterm grading for all Fall 2020 lower-division undergraduate courses (levels 00000, 10000, 20000) meeting in the full term (August 27, 2020 through December 13, 2020) began September 17, 2020 via FlashFAST. Please remember that midterm grading applies ONLY to courses that meet for the full semester.
The deadline for midterm grade submission is midnight on Wednesday, October 14. Midterm grades may not be reported after the deadline. The Grade Change workflow cannot be used to report or change midterm grades after the deadline, and the Registrar's Office will not accommodate other late submission requests.
Submit Midterm grades using Midterm Grades roster
To submit midterm grades via the Midterm Grades roster, login to FlashLine then click Faculty & Advisors/Faculty Dashboard/Grading Resources. Locate Midterm Grades to submit grades.
Submit Midterm grades using Grade Push (Blackboard Users)
If you use Blackboard, there is a tool to make reporting your midterm grades easier—with a push of the button! The process is called Grade Push and it will allow you to “push” the midterm grades recorded in Blackboard into our KSU Midterm Grade Roster, thus eliminating the time and effort spent manually entering them.
To access the Grade Push application, login to FlashLine then click Faculty & Advisors/Faculty Dashboard/Grading Resources. Locate Grade Push to submit grades.
If you have questions or concerns regarding the Grade Push application, please direct them to support.kent.edu.
Please Note: The Grade Push application has been developed for Blackboard users as an option to assist in streamlining the university grading process. The use of this application is not mandatory, though it is encouraged.
Tips and Tricks
Grades Processing Tips and FAQs may be found on the Registrar's website. Any faculty member needing personalized instruction on submitting their grades via the Midterm Grades roster should contact their campus Registrar's Office during normal business hours for assistance.
Troubleshooting TIP: FlashLine 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 FlashLine by improving your connection to the server. Our Helpdesk is prepared to offer assistance with these issues. Please contact them at 330-672-HELP (4357) for one-on-one assistance and technical issues.