The Daily Bruin

The university is seeking a full-time admissions counselor to do recruiting for the School of Education’s counseling program. This position is currently open only to internal (employees) applicants. Please e-mail hr@georgefox.edu to obtain a copy of the job description and transfer request if you are interested in this opening. To apply, you will need to submit the completed transfer request, cover letter and resume to Human Resources no later than Monday, May 18.

There was a formatting error on the May staff time sheet posted on the HR website last week, making it impossible to enter hours in the May 8 space. A corrected time sheet has been posted to replace the old one, so if you’ve already downloaded it before today, please download the new, improved version, copy your hours onto it and toss the first one.

Thanks so much. We apologize for the error and any inconvenience.

– Human Resources

As of May 1, the university is using an enhanced version of the Centennial Tower logo on all publications and on the Web. In the new design, the cross is more prominent, the old-fashioned oval shape has been changed to a circle, the tower looks more realistic, and the striped background is gone. The changes were made to better illustrate the university’s commitment to a Christ-centered education, enhance the logo’s visual appeal, and make it easier to reproduce.

Departments can use up their existing stationery. All newly printed stationery, business cards, publications and internal communication should use the new logo. The revised logos can be downloaded at: georgefox.edu/offices/communications/creative_srv/style.html.

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accreditation team visit on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 5-6, will include meetings with students and employees. Employees are encouraged to attend these meetings, either in person on the Newberg campus or by connecting via live-stream.

The meeting schedule:

Tuesday, May 5: Open Meeting, 3:30-4 p.m. in Hoover 105
Wednesday, May 6: Exiting Meeting, 2:15-2:30 p.m. in Hoover 105

For more information, contact Academic Affairs at ext. 2141.

If you have not already done so, please submit your April time sheet (support staff) or time-off report (administrators) this week. Please be sure it is complete, accurate and signed by both you and your supervisor before sending it to HR at Box 6108, including your cost center and ID number. You can find your Employee ID number on Bruindata and/or on your pay statement.

If your supervisor is not available to sign your time sheet by Monday, May 4, please send a copy to HR and keep the original until it has been signed.

Link to the time-off report: georgefox.edu/offices/hr/Timeoffreport.doc

Link to April time sheet: georgefox.edu/offices/hr/TimesheetApr09.xls

The university’s library has added texting as part of its “Ask Us” service. Now George Fox students, faculty and staff can send questions and receive answers from librarians by using their cell phones. More information is available at georgefox.edu/offices/murdock/text.html.

To access your April online pay statement, please go to mygfu.georgefox.edu to get to the PeopleSoft login screen. Use the same user ID and password that you use to login to e-mail and Bruindata. Open “Self Service” in the menu on the left and click on “Payroll and Compensation.” You will see a list of all of your pay statements that have been processed in PeopleSoft. Click on the pay date in the far left column labeled “Check Date” to open your statement as a PDF file.

This is the last e-nnnouncment with instructions about accessing your pay statement online, so please be sure to save the instructions above if you have not already done so.

Also on this pay day, new premium amounts for optional life insurance and flexible spending account deductions go into effect.

Employees are invited to attend an all-employee meeting from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in Hoover 105. The meeting will provide employees an opportunity to receive campus updates. Your participation is strongly encouraged.

For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available for viewing at stream.georgefox.edu/live/commmtg.sdp. For best results, use Mozilla Firefox for your web browser, and your computer must have QuickTime Player installed. Simply copy the link into the address bar of your browser. If you have any problems, contact the Service Desk at ext. 2569.

A video recording of the meeting will be available for viewing the following day at itunesu.georgefox.edu.

In response to the Best Christian Workplace Survey, we have developed an assessment plan for improving the workplace at George Fox. This plan will be conducted between now and the end of fall semester. Over this nine-month period, you will periodically be sent links to a number of surveys. The surveys will be spaced so that you will only be asked to spend about 15 to 20 minutes per request. The scheduling of surveys like this is to help keep your time commitment low since our time is often very limited.

The assessment plan also includes focus groups in the fall that you might be asked to participate in. Once we have analyzed all of the information from the surveys and focus groups, the University Assessment Committee will discuss options with other groups across campus. Potential changes and solutions will be further examined with additional focus groups in the spring. Recommendations will be forwarded at that time.

This is a somewhat long process, but it is necessary to make the most informed decisions about improving George Fox as a place to work. Hopefully you will find it to be an inclusive process as well. Thank you in advance for your time and contributions to this assessment plan.

Here is the link to the first survey:
surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=YELeDyBO4DMgIGkEuL_2b7ZQ_3d_3d

This is your final reminder that your university password has been set to expire at 9 a.m. Monday, April 13, as part of the university’s annual password reset for all students, faculty and staff. Please login to Bruindata to change your password before that date.

All accounts with passwords that remain unchanged will be locked at 9 a.m. Monday, April 13, preventing you from using university services. Once this occurs, you will need to contact the IT Service Desk to get your password reset. Based on the recommendations of our auditing firm and following best practices, we will be changing university logins at regular intervals. For details, please refer to the password change policy on the IT website. We need to complete a campus password reset prior to the end of the spring semester.

Note: You are not being asked to send your login information to anyone. Rather, you are using the current university password change process that allows the individual to reset their own password.

Password Self-Service Feature
Once you have reset your password, you will be presented with the option to set “security questions” for your account. If you choose not to enter answers at this time, you can later create a self-service password reset option by logging into Bruindata, selecting the “My Data” tab and then “Security Questions.” You will need to answer two security questions from the drop-down list and provide a non-George Fox e-mail address to activate this option. If you forgot your password, a temporary password will be sent to your non-George Fox e-mail, allowing you to log into Bruindata and change your university login password.

There has been a growing trend of employees’ children being on campus for extended periods during the work day, including some on a fairly regular basis. For a number of good reasons, including liability issues, the university’s policy does not allow children in the workplace. The exact policy in the employee handbook can be found on page 57, and may be read online.

Thanks for your cooperation in adhering to this policy.

– Human Resources

There is still time to sign up for the university’s tour of Alpine Europe to see the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany, in early-summer 2010. There are currently 20 people registered for the trip.

Open to all employees, students, alumni, parents and friends of George Fox, the 11-day tour, departing May 31, will include visits to the beautiful European cities of Frankfurt and Munich, Germany; Salzburg, Austria; and Lucerne and Interlaken, Switzerland. Among many other highlights, the tour will include travel through the Rhine Valley, Black Forest, and the Swiss, Austrian and Bavarian Alps. Additionally, visits are planned to Neuschwanstein and Heidelberg castles, and Rothenburg, Germany’s best-preserved medieval town.

The highlight of the trip will be the Passion Play, an inspiring one-day play that dates back nearly 375 years and is performed for sold-out audiences every 10 years in a magnificent outdoor covered amphitheater with the Bavarian Alps as a backdrop.

To read the full itinerary, request more information and register for the trip, visit the alumni site.

Contact Alumni Relations at alumni@georgefox.edu with questions.

With the deadline for filing tax returns just over a week away, this might be a good time to be sure you still have your W-2. If you have lost it and need a replacement W-2, please e-mail HR (hr@georgefox.edu) to request it and include your ID number. It may take two business days to process a replacement W-2, so please submit your request by Thursday, April 9, if you will need one. Please don’t wait until next week. You will be notified by e-mail when your W-2 is ready.

You can still work on your tax return while you wait for your W-2 by using the information from your Dec. 31 pay statement, available online. Go to mygfu.georgefox.edu to get to the PeopleSoft login screen. Use the same user ID and password that you use to log in to e-mail. Open “Self Service” in the menu on the left and click on “Payroll and Compensation.” You will see a list of all of your pay statements that have been processed in PeopleSoft (beginning with our first payroll on Oct. 31). Click on the pay date in the far left column labeled “Check Date” to open your statement as a PDF file.

This is a reminder that your university password has been set to expire at 9 a.m. Monday, April 13, as part of the university’s annual password reset for all students, faculty and staff. Please login to Bruindata to change your password before that date.

All accounts with passwords that remain unchanged will be locked at 9 a.m. Monday April 13, preventing you from using university services. Once this occurs, you will need to contact the IT Service Desk to get your password reset.

Based on the recommendations of our auditing firm and following best practices, we will be changing university logins at regular intervals. For details, please refer to the password change policy on the IT website. We need to complete a campus password reset prior to the end of the spring semester.

Note: You are not being asked to send your login information to anyone. Rather, you are using the current university password change process that allows the individual to reset their own password.

Password Self-Service Feature
Once you have reset your password, you will be presented with the option to set “security questions” for your account. If you choose not to enter answers at this time, you can later create a self-service password reset option by logging into Bruindata, selecting the “My Data” tab and then “Security Questions.”

You will need to answer two security questions from the drop-down list and provide a non-George Fox e-mail address to activate this option. If you forgot your password, a temporary password will be sent to your non-George Fox e-mail, allowing you to log into Bruindata and change your university login password.

If you have not already done so, please submit your March time sheet (support staff) or time-off report (administrators) this week. Please be sure it is complete, accurate and signed by both you and your supervisor before sending it to HR at Box 6108. If your supervisor is not available to sign it, please send a copy to HR and keep the original until it has been signed.

We have added spaces to include your Cost Center and Employee ID numbers since that information is needed to access your record in PeopleSoft, so please take an extra moment to provide that information. You can find your Employee ID number on Bruindata and/or on your pay statement.

Link to the Time-off Report: georgefox.edu/offices/hr/Timeoffreport.doc

Link to March Time Sheet: georgefox.edu/offices/hr/TimesheetMar09.xls

Thanks!

– Human Resources

Your password has been set to expire at 9 a.m. on April 13 as part of the annual password reset for all university students, faculty and staff. Please login to Bruindata to change your password.

All accounts with passwords that remain unchanged will be locked on Monday, April 13, at 9 a.m., preventing you from using university services. Once this occurs, you will need to contact the IT Service Desk to get your password reset.

Based on the recommendations of our auditing firm and following best practices, we will be changing George Fox login at regular intervals. For details, please refer to the password change policy on the IT website. We need to complete a campus password reset prior to the end of the spring semester.

Password Self-Service Feature
Once you have reset your password, you will be presented with the option to set “security questions” for your account. If you choose not to enter answers at this time, you can later create a self-service password reset option by logging into Bruindata, selecting the “My Data” tab and then “Security Questions.” You will need to answer two security questions from the drop-down list and provide a non-GFU e-mail address to activate this option. If you forgot your password, a temporary password will be sent to your non-GFU e-mail allowing you to log into Bruindata and change your university login password.

Note: See this same message was sent to your university e-mail account regarding the password change process. You are not being asked to send your login information to anyone but rather using the current university password change process that allows the individual to reset their own password.

George Fox will host a national pastoral leadership conference, “Spiritual Discernment As Christian Leadership,” on the Newberg campus May 31 through June 3. The event will feature a panel of leading Christian thinkers from around the country.

Sponsored by the George Fox University Congregational Discernment Project, the conference will address the issue of how Christ effectively leads the church in unity. Plenary sessions, workshops and panel discussions with pastors, teachers and authors will provide attendees with a vision for unity and the tools to practice this leadership approach.

Plenary speakers will be Lloyd Ogilvie, Graham Standish, Paul Anderson, Ruth Haley Barton, Peter Bouteneff, and Leith Anderson. All George Fox students, employees and alumni receive a $50 group discount (registering before May 1); save $100 by registering before April 1.

Be sure to pass the word on to church leaders who might be interested. For more information, visit discernment.georgefox.edu or contact Paul Anderson (Religious Studies) at panderso@georgefox.edu.

A Faculty Teaching Forum, “Technology and Learning: Digital Immigrants Teaching Digital Natives,” will be presented by Clella Jaffe (Communication Arts) from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in Hoover 104 (Hoover-Hatfield Library). Note: This is a change from the original April 1 date.

Synopsis: Communication scholars argue that every new advancement in communication technology brings changes in consciousness. Today’s students inhabit a high-tech culture full of communication and information technologies that operate at “twitch-speed” rates; Marc Prensky calls them “digital natives.”

In contrast, most professors were raised in a “print” culture; they are “digital immigrants.” Prensky argues, “Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.” This session explores ways that emerging technologies influence contemporary students’ patterns of thinking and learning.

To reserve a lunch, e-mail Jere Witherspoon (jwithers@georgefox.edu) by 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1. Everyone is welcome to attend the session, whether bringing a lunch or reserving a lunch. Please have your lunch ready so we can begin the conversation at noon.

All faculty — full time, part time and adjunct — are invited to attend Faculty Teaching Forums (FTFs). Video podcasts of FTFs will be available at the “Events and Resources” link on the Center for Teaching and Learning website.

For the second month, employees will see their pay statements by accessing them online instead of receiving them in campus mail.

Go to mygfu.georgefox.edu to get to the PeopleSoft login screen. Use the same user ID and password that you use to log in to e-mail and Bruindata. Open “Self Service” in the menu on the left and click on “Payroll and Compensation.” You will see a list of all of your pay statements that have been processed in PeopleSoft (beginning with our first payroll on Oct. 31) with some basic information included in each of the columns. Click on the pay date in the far left column labeled “Check Date” to open your statement as a PDF file.

Also on this pay day, new premium amounts for medical and dental insurance go into effect, as well as any deduction changes as a result of any changes you made during open enrollment. If you changed to cash in lieu, that will also go into effect. You won’t see deductions for flexible spending accounts or optional life insurance until the April 30 pay day.

Nominations for Support Staff Member of the Year and Administrative Staff Member of the Year are due in HR on Monday, March 23.

If you have any colleagues you believe are deserving of this award, please take a few minutes to nominate them by describing that person’s unique, “above and beyond” contributions to George Fox, its students, and/or its employees in the past year. Indicate what was done, who was impacted, and how this impact was and can be observed. In short, what makes this person stand out in your mind?

Other questions to consider: How has this person encouraged or helped you, other employees, or students in the past year? What is it about this person’s job performance that impresses you? How has this person demonstrated Christian commitment, loyalty to George Fox, and leadership skills at the university and the broader community in the past year?

Nominations can be submitted via e-mail, fax or hard copy, but they must arrive in HR by 5 p.m. on Monday.

Go Bruins!