November 14, 2010 - November 20, 2010 Archives

There will be a one-week overlap between Spring Semester 2011 and May Session 2011.  May Session begins on May 23, 2011 and Spring Semester does not end until May 29, 2011.  This overlap may have scheduling and staffing implications for departments if they employ international graduate students.

Most graduate teaching assistants will be allowed to exceed 40 hours of work during the week of May 23-May 29, making it possible for them to hold both a Spring Semester 2011 appointment and a May Session 2011 appointment.  However, foreign nationals (including F1 and J1 student visa status) cannot exceed 40 hours of work during this one-week overlap under any circumstances according to INS Regulations.   We are requesting that departments review their Spring Semester 2011 and May Session 2011 instructional assignments to avoid any scheduling issues that may arise as a result of this policy.  Please note that spring semester documents cannot be modified, due to the impact it would have on the student's tuition benefits.

The Student Technology Fee Committee is now accepting proposals from CLA faculty, staff, and departments seeking funds for technology equipment and technology-rich projects that enhance the learning experience for our undergraduate and graduate students.

For a description of the grants, please refer to the Student Technology Fee web site at http://infotechfees.cla.umn.edu. Applications for all the grants are available on the web site under the section titled Faculty & Staff.

All proposals should be submitted via the Student Technology Fee web site at http://infotechfees.cla.umn.edu by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, December 3, 2010.

Any questions regarding this call for proposals should be directed to Sarah Knoblauch, Project Manager (CLA-OIT), at 624-7874 or sjk@umn.edu.

The Office for Conflict Resolution provides an integrated conflict management system for University employees who have workplace concerns.  Their goals are to encourage dialogue, identify interests, generate options, build accords, and conduct fair hearings.  Non-bargaining unit University employees, including administrators, faculty, P&A, civil service, and student workers (including research and teaching assistants), are eligible for services. This program is also available to faculty emeriti. (Employees represented by a labor organization may not use this process, but instead should pursue concerns through the process established in their collective bargaining agreements.)  For info: http://www1.umn.edu/ocr/.

Please encourage all supervisors in your units to attend these two trainings sessions.

Understanding the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Organizational Effectiveness is offering a course for University supervisors on Understanding the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This interactive session will provide a refresher for understanding the eligibility and notification requirements of FMLA and clarify the relation of FMLA to other leave policies. Participants will be able to discuss issues related to complex FMLA situations.

To register:  www.umn.edu/ohr/supervisors/courses/index.html#fmla

Dates:  December 9, 2010, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. OR June 22, 2011, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Location:  210 Donhowe

Co-requisite: Managing Hidden Disabilities

This interactive session will provide a refresher for understanding the eligibility and notification requirements of FMLA and clarify the relation of FMLA to other leave policies. Participants will be able to discuss issues related to complex FMLA situations.

Participants will:

• Understand the legal framework of the FMLA
• Know how University policies, rules, and contracts are affected by the FMLA
• Understand what obligations the University has to employees regarding FMLA
• Learn when to involve Disability Services in FMLA issues

Technology

During the University Closure, both central OIT and CLA-OIT will maintain key systems like the college web server, Moodle, the terminal server, email servers, and the Active Directory file servers. Access will be essentially the same as any normal weekend. If you can currently access a University or CLA system off campus on a Sunday, then you should be able to access it off campus during the closure.

As the University will be officially closed, CLA-OIT support staff will not be working. Support for individual connection problems or other troubleshooting will be addressed when the University reopens on January 3, 2011. However, we will respond to emergency situations that affect access to systems.

If you do experience a significant problem, please email it to help@cla.umn.edu or call 612-624-4357 and leave a message; we will monitor email/voicemail and triage the requests for emergency issues.

If you do require or desire access to University or CLA network resources during the closure (or at any time), please make sure you are able to connect off campus well before December 23rd so we can guide you through the process while we are still here before the closure. For starters, please refer to connect.cla.umn.edu and contact the Service Desk (624-4357) for additional guidance.

All CLA Administration deadlines, meetings and events are now in Google Calendar.  You can subscribe to the CLA NOW calendar.

If you are not on Google calendar but still want to view the CLA NOW Calendar.

OR, visit the CLA Intranet http://cla.umn.edu/intranet/ and click "view" under CLA NOW Calendar.