Remarks by First Lady recognize U's financial literacy program

Earlier this month, the First Lady remarked upon the University's One Stop financial literacy program, Live Like a Student, at the College Opportunity Summit. She, along with President Obama, spoke about the effort to help young people pursue an education. In particular, the First Lady recognized the U as not only providing financial aid services but also "committing to expand those services to include financial literacy programs to help students and their families manage the costs of college."

Sneak peek: new self-service centers in PeopleSoft 9.0

Two "sneak peek" videos on the new Faculty Center and Advisor Center are now available. The videos provide an overview on how these centers will benefit users. The ESUP Student Training Team will be developing more in-depth tutorials and documentation of this new functionality before ESUP goes live.

New ASR onboarding video

The Academic Support Resources onboarding video is now available on the ASR intranet site. A link to the video can also be found in the professional development resources page. The video will help new employees understand how ASR departments function individually and as a whole.

One Stop hours changing Monday, Feb. 3

Walk-in hours at the STSS One Stop location will change beginning Monday, February 3, 2014. At that time, One Stop hours will be 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Friday office hours will remain the same (8 a.m.-4 p.m.). This change will ensure the STSS One Stop location is appropriately staffed.

Additionally, the STSS One Stop location will remain open until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the first two weeks of spring semester, as well as the week prior to and the first two weeks of fall semester. Office hours at the West Bank and St. Paul One Stop locations will not change.

New year, new initiatives

After reviewing the results from the latest ASR survey and hearing recommendations from the survey team, the following initiatives are being planned:

- Brown bag discussions focused on clarifying issues regarding merit pay.
- Supervisors will look for additional opportunities to recognize staff and encourage colleagues to do the same. (ASR thank you cards are available from Debbie Henderson. The Office of Human Resources thank you ecard is also another nice way to tell someone you appreciate his or her work.)
- The ASR Development Team will look for ways to increase cross-departmental understanding of what each ASR unit does and how we all work together.
- The ASR Survey Team will plan on reducing the number of surveys distributed and the number of questions asked. The team will also explore asking new questions. If you have a suggestion for the ASR Survey Team, contact Matt Tveter.

These initiatives are still in the planning stage, so be sure to stay tuned for updates in future issues of News & Notes.

ASR organizational chart

Have you familiarized yourself with the ASR organizational chart lately? It's useful to take a peek every now and then to reacquaint yourself with colleagues' titles and the department's report structure. You can also view vacant positions as well.

Are you really anxious?

We use the word anxious a lot, but its meaning may be different than you previously thought. We usually say, "I'm anxious to see my friends" or "I'm anxious to finally travel to Europe." The real definition of the word, however, means to have a feeling of dread, fear, or anxiety. It doesn't mean you're looking forward to something. So unless you fear your friends or visiting Europe, it's best to say you're excited or eager instead.