Vol. XXXVIII, No. 33, August 31, 2009

This Week at Valencia

Tuesday, September 1

DOT Deans Mtg., 9 a.m., Winter Park Campus, Rm. 123

Thursday, September 3

College Learning Council, 2:30 p.m., CJI, Rm. 143

It is time to talk to your full-time career service employees regarding their upcoming yearly performance evaluation. An email reminder has been sent to supervisors that contain helpful guidelines that take you through the process to make this an effective experience. The Career Service Performance Evaluation form #30 is available in Atlas/Valencia Forms.

College policy 6Hx28:3E-01 states that full-time career service employees will be evaluated in writing at least once a year. The policy can be viewed on the Valencia website. From the home page click on Faculty & Staff, then under Employee Resources click on Policy Manual.

For employees who were in your department since July 1, 2008, the rating period is July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. Contact Donna Boiani at ext. 8041 with any questions.

Upcoming Workshops

Valencia’s Center for Leadership Development is presenting leadership briefings on Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High and Influencer: The Power to Change Anything from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on November 13 at Valencia's West Campus.

This powerful one day leadership development workshop is designed for leaders who want to transcend challenges and problems in an effective way that achieves results. In partnership with Gems Consulting, Valencia’s Center for Leadership Development is proud to offer two workshops in one day based on the best-selling books Crucial Conversations and Influencer.

Participants will receive both of the books, continental breakfast and lunch. Make this a great professional development day for your whole team. Workshop fee for Valencia employees is $259 per person and SPD funds may be used for this event.

MONEY BASICS™ - This comprehensive program covers all aspects of personal money management including advanced topics such as education planning, estate planning, investments, and determining insurance needs. Designed for individuals who desire to learn the basics of money management. T opics include setting financial goals, managing income and estimating expenses, tax planning, retirement planning, and a review of the sponsoring company benefits. Upon completion of this six hour workshop, participants will have the tools and knowledge to develop their own financial plan.

This six-hour workshop is being offered Oct 12, 19 and 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. OR Nov 5, 12 and 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sand Lake Center. The fee is $195 and you can bring a spouse or friend for an additional $59. To register please call ext. 6688.

Outlook Tip-of-the-Week: Outlook Password Security

Unlike the old e-mail system you cannot have a separate password for the network and your e-mail. This is by design and is a step towards minimizing the number of passwords you will have to remember. There are, however, important security concerns that need to be considered, especially as we move toward a unified sign-in.

• When not at your computer be sure you are logged off or have locked the computer
• LOG OFF:  Start > Shut Down or Log Off
• Lock the computer: 
• Press CRTL+Alt+DEL and select Lock Workstation, or
• Press the Windows  and the L keys
• To log in Press CTRL+ALT+DEL as you normally do to log back in
• Never share your passwords with anyone
• Sharing passwords is a direct violation of College Policies [04-38.02]
• You are responsible for all access to your account
• If you are going to be away and others need access to your e-mail you can delegate access via Tools > Options > Delegates
• Since the college is now on Windows Active Directory anyone with an account can log onto the computer. No one needs your password to do this.

Be sure to protect yourself, the College network and prevent anyone from using your e-mail account and use secure passwords (alpha-numeric 6 – 11 characters long)

• When using Outlook Web Access from a publicly accessed computer be sure
• On the OWA log in screen check “This is a public or shared computer”
• If prompted for the browser to remember the password select No (recommended is No for all computer systems – public or personal
• If you use Outlook Web Access to change your Outlook password you are also changing your network log on password
• Password security is not limited to your Outlook and network access; it is crucial to protect your Atlas account as that is the portal for all of your HR and Financial Information

For more tips and FAQs please click on the OIT Tools icon on your desktop and select “Ask a Question.”

News from Procurement

Procurement Terminology - “Piggyback” simply means that we may utilize an existing (competitively solicited) contract from another government agency.  Many government solicitations contain a clause that allows the vendor to extend the resulting contractual pricing to other agencies.  This option permits the college to take advantage of competitive pricing obtained by larger organizations.  There are additional cost savings through reduction in administrative expenses.  For example, we often “piggyback” on State of Florida term contracts.  This is another way we are able to obtain goods or services quickly at a reasonable cost.

P-Card Transactions and Notes - When adding notes to your P-Card transaction please be sure to include specific details so that anyone reviewing the transaction (including auditors) can understand what the purchase is.  When using your P-Card for travel, give an itemized list in the description with a breakdown of who is traveling, how many nights the college is paying for the hotel, etc.

PaymentNet Transaction Dispute - Did you know that PaymentNet has a useful feature that allows cardholders to dispute P-Card charges directly with our card issuing bank JPMorgan Chase? A dispute can arise for many reasons, for example: failure to receive goods, duplicate charges, sales tax charge, incorrect amounts, etc. Note: Before using PaymentNet’s dispute feature, it is important that the cardholder first attempt to resolve the issue directly with the vendor. Most disputes are resolved expeditiously in this way and credits are refunded to the affected credit cards.

For questions regarding transaction disputes, please contact Kacy Weekes at ext. 1974.

Purchase of Paper - Our copy centers can sell you reams of color paper or specialized paper just for the asking.  Please contact: West Word Processing at ext. 1266 or East Word Processing at ext. 2258.

Cabin Creek Food Services - See the back page for the fall operating hours.

Leadership Valencia

How to Run Reports in the Data Warehouse - (Presenter: Jim Ferrari) Please Note: This is the same training as the Data Warehouse Training for Cognos users. This is a hands-on workshop that will teach you how to access and run Data Warehouse reports. This will be accomplished through the Data Warehouse web portal and directly within Excel using a special add-in. Choose from one of the following:

• September 15, 9-10:30 a.m., West Campus, Room 6-326B. Registration Code: LRRDW-1
• September 16, 1-2:30 p.m., Criminal Justice Institute, Room 228. Registration Code: LRRDW-2
• October 8, 1-2:30 p.m., West Campus, Room 6-326B. Registration Code: LRRDW-3
• October 14, 1-2:30 p.m., Criminal Justice Institute, Room 228. Registration Code: LRRDW-4

Aging Parents - Parenting parents: What You Need to Know as Your Parents Age (Presenters: Helen Von Dolteren Fournier and Julie Kronhaus) - Join us for a workshop created just to help you manage your concerns or questions regarding your aging parent(s). If you are the primary caregiver or simply concerned for the sake of your parent(s) or parent(s)-in-law and need answers, consider joining us. If you have any of the following questions, consider attending:

• What legal documents should every parent have in place? If my parents executed their documents 20 years ago, up North, are they still good?
• What if my parents outlive their money - what assistance/benefits are there for them? How do I find out about these programs?
• Do you and your siblings agree on the long-term care plan for your parent?
• My widowed mother wants to marry someone she has met at the Senior Living Center - what should she consider, legally, before she marries?
• I suspect that my brother is misusing the Power of Attorney - what can be done?
• Is it true that my father must 'give away' or 'sell' all his assets, including his home, to qualify for Medicaid assistance?
• What is Guardianship and how will I know if my parent needs it?
• My mother has passed but my stepfather is still living; how can I approach him to speak about these types of issues?
• My father was a WWII veteran - is he eligible for any VA long term care assistance and will my mother be eligible too?

September 24, 6-8:30 p.m., Criminal Justice Institute, Registration Code: GAP-1

Banner Finance for Beginners - (Presenters: Mary Ellen Davies, Brian Bastin, Nicoleta Brandolini) Learn how to look up your budget, create budget transfers, create requisitions, and research your budget and spending. October 2, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Winter Park Campus, Room 219. Registration Code: TFBC-2

Circles of Belonging - Ever wonder what makes a person tick? Individual experiences play a huge part in shaping the way we interact with others and view the world around us.This in-depth interactive workshop will examine how diversity of experience impacts our interpersonal communications and relationships. Through discovery and discussion, learn more about yourself and the people around you. Participants will leave the session with an increased understanding of and appreciation for similarities and differences. September 25, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Criminal Justice Institute Campus Auditorium. Registration Code: PCOB-1

Preparing Yourself for Retirement, a four part series, presented by Helen Von Dolteren-Fournier and sponsored by the Valencia Chapter of AAWCC. A continental breakfast will be served at each presentation.

• Session I of IV: Budgeting Your Needs - Budgeting your needs will be based on your current habits, your retirement picture, and any social security income, defined benefit income, etc.We will forecast federal income taxes and average inflation with all of these figures for your personalized retirement plan. September 8, 9-10:30 a.m., Osceola Campus, Room 3-239. Registration Code: GBYN-3
• Session II of IV: Different Retirement Savings Choices, Which is Best - What is the best for you? How can you know? Does your tax bracket today influence your decision? Investment choices include 403B, Roth 403B, 457, Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, full pension versus partial pension with cash plan. So many choices! September 15, 9-10:30 a.m., Osceola Campus, Room 3-239. Registration Code: GDRC-3
• Session III of IV: Picking Your investment - After you determine your risk tolerance and asset allocation, we will utilize Morningstar to determine which mutual funds fit into your allocation perfectly. We will discuss when you should consider cutting loose your mutual funds due to poor performance, etc. Additionally, you will have an opportunity to review the Morningstar report on your current mutual fund holdings. September 3, 9-10:30 a.m., East Campus, Room 5-112. Registration Code: GPYR-1; OR September 10, 9-10:30 a.m., West Campus, Room 6-202. Registration Code: GPYR-2; OR September 22, 9-10:30 a.m., Osceola Campus, Room 3-239. Registration Code: GPYR-3
• Session IV of IV: Wrapping Up, Completing an Analysis –Completing this analysis based on your personal income and expense information that we have compiled throughout this series of  workshop. You will know if you need to save a little more to reach your perfect retirement or if you can actually retire earlier than you thought. September 17, 9-10:30 a.m., East Campus, Room 5-112. Registration Code: GWU-1; OR September 24, 9-10:30 a.m., West Campus, Room 6-202. Registration Code: GWU-2; OR September 29, 9-10:30 a.m., Osceola Campus, Room 3-239. Registration Code: GWU-3

21st Century Learning Environments - (Presenter: Jim Belcher) Creating environments for learning and exchange, not just delivery - applying research to design. We will have fun experiencing first hand- not just talking about-some of the more innovative and effective recent ideas including:

• Parker Palmer's "community of truth" vs. "the objectivist myth of knowing".
• Juanita Brown and David Isaacs' "World Café: Shaping Our Futures through Conversations That Matter" technology.
• Margaret Wheatley's "calling of circles to give birth to new ideas, new courage, and new companions for the journey."
• Harrison Owen's "Open Space Technology".
• The three new R's - relevance, resonance, and response.
• Lessons learned from three years of experimental room design in EC Room 8-144.
• And, YOUR best practice ideas, for designing more effective learning environments.

Please send any questions and comments to Jim Belcher, jbelcher@valenciacc.edu. September 24, 12:45-3 p.m., East Campus, Room 5-112. (Please Note the Room Change.) Registration Code: G21CLE

Consensus Building: How to Effectively Reach an Agreement within a Group - (Presenter: Joseph Sarrubbo) Participants will work individually and in groups in order to learn techniques for effective consensus building. Sponsored by the Valencia Chapter of FACC. September 30, 10:30 a.m.-12 Noon, West Campus, Room SSB-110-D. Registration Code: PCS-1

Collaboration at the Learning College - (Presenters: Dr. Shugart and Michael Shugg) Join Valencia's leaders for a conversation about our habits of collaboration. Questions to be considered include: What is collaboration at a learning college? Why do we collaborate? What are some characteristics of authentic versus inauthentic collaboration? What are the preconditions for effective collaboration? How do we balance our collaborative process with the need to move work forward? What level of collaboration is appropriate for what types of decisions? October 28, 2-4:30 p.m., East Campus, Room 5-112. Registration Code: PCALC-3

To register for all classes go to http://www.valenciacc. edu/leadership/. Please be sure you have the approval of your direct supervisor prior to registering for a workshop. If a workshop is canceled, only those registered can be sent a cancellation email. To view the status of a particular workshop and to see a full listing of workshops check the Leadership Valencia calendar located online.

Welcome back to everyone who was off for the summer and hope it was a healthy, relaxing one! We have LOTS of exciting Wellness activities kicking off this fall. They begin the week of September 7th and end December 12th. Be sure to visit the wellness website at http://valenciacc.edu/wellness  to see the most up-to-date list of all the activities planned for the fall. No pre-registration is required, just show up for the class and remember - you can attend any campus.

The most exciting addition to the Wellness Program is the Wellness points you will be earning. You should have received an email with the points you have accumulated for any wellness activity you participated in and signed in for. You received one wellness point for each signature which then turned into Wellness bucks. There is a website you can redeem those bucks for some really nice gifts. Beginning in the fall, there will be sign-in sheets at the East and West Fitness Centers. Each time you sign in to work out you will receive a point. Please print your name so there is no problem reading it and you are given proper credit. You can go to the wellness website for additional information.

A new Step by Step Walking Program will begin September 14th. Walking is a great way to become physically active. This is a 12-week program. For each step you record you earn wellness bucks. You will receive an email with the sign-up form or you can download the form at the wellness website. Contact Debi Jakubcin at djakubcin@valenciacc.edu with any questions.

A Warm Welcome to New Full-time Employees

Chatelain Hubermann, custodian, West Campus, mc 4-9, ext. 1217

Ryan Sexton, student services specialist, West Campus, mc 4-10, ext. 1507

Lauren Johnson, student services specialist, West Campus, mc 4-10, ext. 1507

Tom Hickman, instructor, EMS, West Campus, mc 4-14, ext. 1543

Jesse Helligso, instructor, Political Science, East Campus, mc 3-29, ext. 2053

Alison Hammack, instructor, Mathematics, East Campus, mc 3-16, ext. 2207

Elizabeth Earle, instructor, Reading, Osceola Campus, mc 6-6, ext. 4121

Cabin Creek Food Services Fall Operation Hours

Submissions to the Bulletin are encouraged, so please e-mail your achievements, awards, recognitions and relevant information for the college community to Mary Jane Jones in the Marketing and Media Relations office. Deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on Tuesday to be included in the following Monday’s publication. Mary Jane can be reached at ext.1017, mc 4-34 or mjones2@valenciacc.edu