şÚÁĎÍř Named One Of The Nation’s Most LGBTQ-Friendly Universities by Campus Pride
Campus Pride has released its and for the first time in school history, şÚÁĎÍř has landed on the distinctive list as one of 40 colleges recognized over six U.S. regions and the only Mid-American Conference school to receive this honor.
For nearly 20 years, Campus Pride has supported colleges and universities to improve campus life for LGBTQ students. The 2020 Best of the Best College and University listing is based on information provided on an annual basis through the , relating to policies, programs and practice.
Kent State’s status has been a work in progress by way of a self-evaluation process each year, according to Ken Ditlevson, director of Kent State’s LGBTQ+ Center that contributed to the national recognition.
“Accomplishments such as incorporating trans-inclusive health care for faculty and staff, a preferred name policy, and integrating universal restrooms are what put us over the top,” said Ditlevson. “The fact that Kent State is in the top 40 is a major accomplishment and something I am really proud of.”
Ditlevson, who started in his position in 2016, has used Campus Pride as a benchmark and roadmap to where he wanted to see the university go with its LGBTQ inclusion.
“Kent State scored 3.5 on the scale of 5 when I first came in, so we used the Campus Pride index to reflect on what we were doing well, and what areas we should be striving to improve in,” he said. “It has been really helpful in identifying what we should take on next, not just to improve our score, but to improve the environment at Kent State to be more responsive to students and our community.”
Kent State currently has a perfect overall score of 5 on the .
LGBTQ+ Center Intern, Kayla Cagwin, believes it’s a source of great pride that Kent State is so accommodating to students on campus. “It means so much to me personally as a queer student to know that Kent State supports diverse populations,” said Cagwin. “I am honored that I get to be a part of a team that does so much to make Kent State a safe and inclusive space for everyone in our campus community.”
That outreach extends beyond the campus and includes potential students who visit each year.
“It’s really cool when we have families and parents who come in for a tour because they see our score,” said Ditlevson. “So, people see that and then they come to Kent State and get the tour and it’s like a no-brainer and they love everything about the campus.”
As Kent State looks to the future and maintaining the mark, Ditlevson is quick to point out that Kent State’s progress is a real community effort.
“It’s not just our center, we have a council that includes representatives from all over the university, including regional reps and folks who sit around the table,” said Ditlevson. “It’s a real conversation amongst the group so we can come to a consensus about how we are meeting this expectation.”
Learn more about Kent State’s LGBTQ community. To view a list of Campus Pride's 2020 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities, visit .
Geauga Alumna Assists Local Nursing Home During Pandemic
Brittany Sustar, a 2010 graduate of the BSN program at Kent State Geauga, has worked her way up through several nursing positions at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center and now serves as the Nursing Operations and Patient Experience Manager. Brittany had an integral part in helping a local nursing home through their struggles with COVID19. Read more in the attached article. Read the full story: Caring at the Core of COVID Response.
It’s Time to Act: Open Enrollment Ends on Fri., Nov. 6.
As is the case for any Open Enrollment period, every benefits-eligible employee is strongly encouraged to log into the Open Enrollment portal to verify your elections for the 2021 benefits plan year, review some of the newly enhanced benefits, such as life, AD&D and LTD insurance options, and ensure that you and any eligible dependents have the benefit coverages you intended.
There are many benefits that DO NOT automatically roll over, referenced below. Once the open enrollment window closes, Nov. 6, 2020, employees will no longer be eligible to make any 2021 plan changes unless you experience a qualifying life status event.
Please take the time to act before 4:59 p.m., Nov. 6. The following resources are available to support your decision making:
- Visit the 2021 Open Enrollment website to get valuable information concerning available healthcare plan options. Review the plan comparison charts and employee contribution rates under “Medical 2021.”
- The healthcare modeler tool is available to help you choose a plan that works best for you and your family. This can be found on our Open Enrollment Resource page at .
- Use the Medical Mutual resources dedicated to serve Kent State employees. These include a dedicated phone line at (877) 480-3110; email at KSUQuestion@MedMutual.com, and web page at . You will also find a provider search tool to assist you with locating the right doctor or facility to meet your healthcare needs.
These Benefits Require Action – Don’t Miss Out!
- Employees enrolling into the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) for the 2021 benefit plan year must access the online Open Enrollment portal and select the Health Savings Account (HSA) option if you want to receive the employer contribution, even if you have an existing 2020 account.
- Flexible Spending Accounts require an election each calendar year. If you do not make an election during the Open Enrollment period, Oct. 19 – Nov. 6, you will not have an FSA (healthcare and/or dependent care) for the 2021 benefit plan year.
- Employees in a “Refused/Opt Out of Medical” option must confirm their election via the Open Enrollment portal if they choose to remain in that status for 2021. Any employee who opts out of medical coverage will also be required to complete the Verification of Alternative Insurance. This verification form will be sent to you the week of Nov. 9 via a DocuSign email and must be completed by Nov. 20, 2020.
Accessing the Open Enrollment Portal:
- You can access open enrollment through the university’s secure Flashline at .
- Once logged in, under “My Dashboard,” click on the “Employee” tab, and select “Start or Review Your Benefit Elections” from under the banner or in the “Top Employee Resources” channel.
Note, once you have completed your elections for 2021 via the Open Enrollment Portal, you will receive an email confirmation of your benefit plan choices for the 2021 benefit plan year within 5 minutes. If you DO NOT receive a confirmation email, your transaction was not complete, and you should access the portal and make sure you select “Save and Finish 2021 Enrollment.”
Faculty and staff with questions regarding benefit choices for 2021 may contact the University Benefits Office at 330-672-3107, 330 672-6947 (hotline), or benefits@kent.edu.
What You Need to Know When Employees Work a University-Recognized Holiday
All employees, whether AFSCME , unrepresented or students, should be aware of the different guidelines that apply to each when working during a university-recognized holiday. Please visit the Human Resources holiday calendar website for guidelines pertaining to holiday pay.
Important Information about Final Grading of Fall 2020 Second 5 Weeks Classes
Online final grading for Fall 2020 Second 5 Weeks (POT F2) began Mon., Nov. 2, via FlashFAST. Grading is also now available for any Fall 2020 course section that was flexibly scheduled. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Sun., Nov. 8. Any final grades for Fall 2020 courses not reported in FlashFAST by the grades processing deadline will have to be submitted using the Grade Change Workflow. These fall 2020 courses will be available in the Workflow on Tues., Nov. 10.
To access Final Grades via FlashFAST, log into FlashLine and click on the Faculty and Advisors Category/Faculty Dashboard/Grading Resources Section.
Blackboard Grading Process:
The Grade Push application has been developed as an option to assist in streamlining the university grading process. The use of this application is not mandatory, though it is encouraged. Grade Push will allow you to “push” the final grades recorded in Blackboard into our KSU Final Grade Roster, thus eliminating the time and effort spent manually entering them.
To access Grade Push, log into FlashLine and click on the Faculty and Advisors/Faculty Dashboard/Grading Resources.
If you have questions or concerns, please go to support.kent.edu and search “Grade Push.”
Incomplete Mark Workflow:
The instructor must create and submit an Incomplete Mark contract via the workflow. Instructors will no longer be able to select the incomplete mark (IB+, IC+, IC-, etc.) from the final grade roster in FlashFAST (Self-Service Banner). The primary instructor must initiate and submit the contract using this new workflow process, which mimics the old paper process. Once the contract has been accepted by the student and approved by the department chair/campus dean, the student’s grade will be updated automatically. The primary instructor will be able to initiate and submit the contract for a student after the deadline to withdraw (10th week of a regularly scheduled section in fall and spring, or prorated for flexibly scheduled sections) through the end of final grading.
Access the Incomplete Mark workflow in FlashLine from the Faculty Dashboard under Grading Resources or Faculty Workflows.
NF/SF Administrative Marks:
The administrative mark NF (Never Attended–Fail) denotes that the student neither attended one class session nor formally withdrew from the course. If a student has never attended your course, mark the student as “Not Started” on the Academic Presence Verification Roster, and the NF will automatically populate to your Final Grades roster.
The administrative mark SF (Stopped Attending–Fail) denotes that the student stopped attending the course and did not formally withdraw and must be accompanied by a date of last attendance in the course. If a student has stopped attending your course the SF can be entered on the Final Grade Roster along with the student’s last date of attendance.
For complete information on university grading policies including Incomplete Mark and NF/SF grading policies, procedures and timelines, please visit the Grading Policies and Procedures section in the .
Grades Processing Tips and FAQs may be found on the Registrar's website. Any faculty member needing personalized instruction on submitting their grades via FlashFAST should contact their campus Registrar's Office during normal business hours for assistance.
Troubleshooting TIP:
FlashFAST is accessible from any Internet-capable computer that has the cookies function enabled. We recommend that you clean out your cookie and cache files regularly to help your computer run faster, and to potentially restore and/or improve your access to FlashFAST or FlashLine by improving your connection to the server. The Helpdesk is prepared to help with these issues. Please call 330-672-HELP (4357) for one-on-one assistance and help with technical issues.