APRIL
2008
Faculty Staff Softball Event
and "Taste of Bulls Country" is May 17th
All USF employees and their families are invited to
attend the
25th Annual Faculty & Staff Softball Event
and Taste of “Bulls Country” on Saturday May 17th.
Plan now to bring
your family to enjoy a fun, exciting day!
Originally scheduled for April 5th, the event
was rescheduled due to rain. On May 17th the
lineup of food and fun will be even better.
Softball games begin at 9 AM. Free food & beverages
from 50 Bulls Country vendors from 11 AM – 1:30 PM.
Children’s activities throughout the day include a
bouncy house, face painting and more.
The event is held on the USF Intramural Softball fields
on the east side of the Tampa campus and under the oaks
on the east side of the soccer stadium, off USF-Sycamore
(click
here for a
map).
For information on the event, registering a new team to
play, or ordering commemorative Event t-shirts, hats or
visors, click
here.
The deadline to order shirts, hats and visors is
Saturday April 26th. The deadline for new
softball teams to register is May 9th. For
softball information, call Renee Seay in Campus Rec at
(813) 974-2959.
Note: in case of cancellation due to inclement weather,
notice will be posted on the
event website
and on the voice message at (813) 974-5711.
REVISED
PERSONNEL ACTION FREEZE
APPROVAL PROCESS FOR PERSONNEL ACTIONS
DURING THE BUDGET REDUCTION
Effective Immediately 4/18/08
On
January 18, 2008 the University implemented a
University-wide budget reduction plan. As a result, all
personnel actions that had a cost associated with their
implementation were subject to VP, Budget Council and
Presidential approval.
Please be advised that effective immediately, the
approval process for authorized personnel actions due to
the budget reduction plan has been revised.
Approval for personnel actions must now be requested
from either of the following:
· Vice President
or Budget Council
Member
Each
VP area will establish their process to be followed for
requesting and receiving exceptions to the Freeze.
Authorized Budget Council Members
Kevin Toso - Academic Affairs
Pearl Bigfeather - Office of Research
Fair Vickers - Student Affairs
John Scott - University Advancement
Trudie Frecker - University Services
Joanne Strobbe - USF Health
Josh Bresler - USF Lakeland
Ben Ellinor - USF Sarasota/Manatee
Julie Jakway - USF St. Petersburg
Please refer to the
January 18, 2008 Personnel Action Freeze Guidelines
for details on the actions that you may submit for
approval.
Employee “Perks” & Discounts
Your USF Employee ID
card is your ticket to fun and savings year ‘round with
the
Employee Perks Program -- just one of many benefits
offered at USF. Faculty and staff can receive various
discounts for goods, services and recreation. Planning
your summer vacation? Check out discounts on theme
parks, hotels and car rentals.
Get “connected” with
phone and cable savings. You’ll find discounts on auto
club membership, car maintenance, flowers, vision care
and more. And be sure to visit
Bulls Country for great discounts from our local
Bulls Country community partners, including restaurants,
shops, movies and local attractions.
Outstanding Staff Awards Ceremony May
13th
All employees are invited to attend the Outstanding
Staff Awards ceremony, hosted by President Genshaft, on
Tuesday May 13 at 2 PM in Theatre I on the Tampa
campus.
The Outstanding Staff Award is the highest award given
by the University to Administration and Staff employees
who exemplify USF’s vision, values and standards of
service. It is an honor to be nominated. Outstanding
Staff Award recipients are recognized and honored at the
annual ceremony. Two OSA recipients also will receive
the Gabor Award as “Employees of the Year.” For more
information contact Susan Boully, HR Communications,
(813) 974-5711.
Sick Pool Open Enrollment in April
Open
Enrollment for the USF Sick Leave Pool is April 1
through April 30, 2008, with an effective date of
membership of June 1, 2008. The Sick Leave Pool enables
an employee to remain in a paid status when they
experience a serious short-term medical condition
rendering them unable to perform assigned duties and
causing them to deplete all of their accrued sick and
annual leave. Click
here for information on how to enroll, or contact
your department’s Attendance & Leave Coordinator or
Beverly Jerry, USF Attendance & Leave Coordinator at
(813) 974-5717 or
bjerry@admin.usf.edu.
Special Open Enrollment
Opportunity for Long-Term Disability Insurance
If
you are an eligible USF employee (at least .50 FTE on a
line position) without Long-Term Disability coverage,
you may enroll in the LTD insurance during a special
Open Enrollment Period from April 1 – May 30, 2008 with
guaranteed acceptance and no underwriting or medical
exams. This limited time offer by the Gabor Agency and
UNUM Life Insurance provides a means to continue your
pay in the event of a disability.
Eligible employees will receive a brochure via campus
mail from the Gabor Agency in early April Coverage is
effective May 1 or June 1, 2008 for 12-month employees
and September 1, 2008 for 9-month employees. Payroll
deductions begin in the month coverage takes effect.
Employees may choose a 30-day or 90-day elimination
period. The premium for the 90-day elimination period
option is $.61 per $100 of covered monthly salary; for
the 30-day elimination period, the premium is $.94 per
$100 of covered monthly salary. The monthly benefit is
2/3 of your salary up to a maximum of $9,000 a month.
To
take advantage of this opportunity eligible employees
should fill out the application form included in the
brochure they receive and turn it in to Human Resources
on or before May 30th. For full plan details go to
www.gaboragency.com/ltd. For more information,
contact the Gabor Agency at 800-330-6115 option 5. For
questions, call your HR Benefit Representatives at (813)
974-2970.
Future Job Seekers Will Be Able to
Apply for USF Jobs On-Line
A
new system is planned for USF which will provide an
on-line job application process for prospective new
employees who currently may apply for jobs at USF by
paper application only. The new system, called “eRecruit”,
is a module of USF’s Human Resources GEMS (PeopleSoft)
system. In addition to the new features for job
applicants, eRecruit will provide improvements to the
hiring process for colleges and departments throughout
the University. The new program is currently being
tested for use at USF. Keep watching for more
information!
Faculty & Staff Appreciation
Event Canceled on March 8th
Unfortunately, the Faculty & Staff Appreciation Event,
scheduled for Saturday March 8, had to be canceled due
to severe wind conditions. Every effort was made to
find an alternate venue, but without success.
Notification of the cancellation was posted on the HR
and Athletics websites, USF-NEWS, sent to local
television stations, and HR staff members remained at
the event site until 7 PM. Appreciation Event attendees
purchased basketball game tickets and received a
wristband to the pre-game event at no charge. Although
the pre-game event was canceled, many faculty, staff and
their families still enjoyed the basketball game between
USF and Notre Dame. This was the first time an
Appreciation Event has had to be canceled since their
inception 4 years ago.
People First Enhances Password
Security
Beginning April 12, 2008, logging into
People First to check on your state benefits becomes
more secure. You will be asked to select 3 security
questions and provide answers which will be used to
verify your identity and allow you to unlock your user
ID or reset your password. When your password expires
you will be asked to create a new one following
new password requirements. When you call the People
First Service Center (866-663-4735) you will be prompted
to enter the last five digits of your social security
number and your date of birth to verify your identity.
These changes create a more secure system to protect
your personal information. For more details from People
First click
here or contact an HR Benefits Representative at
(813) 974-2970.
Foreign National/RightStart@USF Training
Session
If
you are responsible for hiring foreign nationals in your
department, this training may be for you. Presented by
International Services (IS) and Human Resources on
Friday, April 11, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in
SVC 5012, topics covered will include:
Definition of Non-Resident Alien(NRA)
-
How to Identify that the Employee is a NRA
-
Right Start @USF
-
Basic Immigration Documents
-
Common Visas Eligible to Work
-
Visas Not Eligible to Work
-
Ramifications of hiring employees with No Work
Authorization documents
Register using GEMS self service for “HR-FN/RightStart
Training”, course number BPC111. For questions contact
your
HR Representative.
2008 – 2009 Summer / Fall
Appointments Guarantee Dates
Are
you responsible for submitting appointment information
about your department’s employees to the HR Employment
Center? The appointment "Guarantee Date" for Summer
Session A & C is 04/22/08. The appointment “Guarantee
Date” for Summer Session B is 06/03/08. All Appointment
Status Forms (ASF) received by HR by these dates are
guaranteed to be processed in time, provided any errors
or additional information needed to process the
appointment can be resolved in a timely fashion. You’ll
find a calendar of semester appointment and guarantee
dates
here. For questions contact your
HR Representative.
USF Night with the Tampa Bay Rays at
Tropicana Field
Saturday August 2, 2008 is the inaugural USF Night with
the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg,
when the Rays will take on the Detroit Tigers. The game
begins at 6:10 PM (gates open at 4:10 PM). Free
post-game concert with Grammy Award winning Hip Hop
Artist LL Cool J. USF Men’s Basketball Coach Stan Heath
will throw out the first pitch. There will be special
appearance by USF icons, and a B.J. Upton figurine to
the first 10,000 fans. Discount tickets start at $14.
Baseline box tickets are $25 and include a limited
edition Rays hat with USF logo (while supplies last).
Groups of 20 or more receive additional discounts and
perks. Join USF faculty, staff, alumni and students for
this one-of-a-kind event! Event information is
here. To order tickets click
here or call 1-888-FAN-RAYS.
Making Changes to Designated
Supervisor (“Reports-to”) in GEMS
If
you are responsible for requesting changes in GEMS to
the designated supervisor for an employee (this field is
called “Reports-to” in GEMS), all ‘Reports-to’ changes
should now be forwarded to your
HR
Representative
in the Employment Center. For questions, contact your
HR Representative.
April 15 is the Deadline to Collect
Your FSA Money
If
you contributed to a Flexible Spending Account for
Medical or Child Care coverage during 2007, you have
until April 15, 2008 to submit your reimbursement
request. Flexible Spending Account Claim Forms are on
the
People First website or on the
Forms page of the HR website. If you have any
questions, contact an HR Benefits Representative at
(813) 974-2970.
Using the eUSF Portal to Access GEMS
Self Service
As a
USF employee, you can use GEMS Self Service to print
your paycheck, request leave, review your benefits,
update your address and personal information, etc.
The
eUSF Portal is a more secure port of entry into GEMS
Self Service (and other USF business systems). All
regular line employees have access to the eUSF Portal.
In
the past employees have used their GEMS ID to log into
GEMS Self Service. The University is in the process of
shifting all employees from that old way to the new way
-- accessing GEMS Self Service via the eUSF Portal. If
you are not yet using the portal, follow the
instructions below to get started.
You
can access the eUSF Portal on or off campus. You can
set it up to automatically log you in using your regular
computer ID and password, so you won’t need separate
passwords for different applications.
How to get started:
You’ll find the link to the
eUSF Portal throughout the USF website. For
example, on the “A-Z Index” the Portal link is just
above the “Search” box.
Step by step instructions, links, frequently asked
questions and help are on the ePortal homepage
here. There is a short on-line training that walks
you through it
here.
To
log in: click on the
eUSF Portal link and log in using your “domain
name\regular computer ID” and “regular computer
password” in this format:
USERID:
domainname\jsmith
PASSWORD: enter your regular computer password
Don't know your domain name? Click
here for a list of most USF domain names. Still
can’t find it? Email
helpdesk@admin.usf.edu.
Set up automatic access to the Portal by following the
step-by-step instructions
here.
Need
more help? Email
helpdesk@admin.usf.edu.
