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Tiffany Murray Joins ������’s Division of Human Resources

Tiffany Murray is Kent State’s new Director, Gender Equity and Title IX Coordinator.

A former Kent State employee, Tiffany most recently worked at the University of Toledo as the Director of Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and HR Compliance, where she had primary responsibility for  management of federal, state, and university compliance under Title VI, Title VII,  and Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as oversight of the university’s affirmative action plans.

“Tiffany’s extensive knowledge and experience in equal opportunity, employment, and HR compliance matters make her an excellent fit for our division,” said Jack Witt, Vice President for Human Resources. “Her return is a welcomed addition to our Compliance Department, where she will address the many challenges and opportunities of Title IX regulations and policies in support of the university’s faculty, staff and students.”

Prior to the University of Toledo, Tiffany worked as a Research Consultant for the Office of Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at ������. In that position she developed responsive briefs and litigation holds concerning labor and employment matters involving Title VI and Title VII protected class violations, ADA, FMLA, Workers’ Compensation, Unemployment Compensation Denial Hearings, Wrongful Termination claims, and employee claims, including research to coordinate resolution strategies involving AAUP & AFSCME collective bargaining issues.

Tiffany previously held several other positions at ������, including Director of Records, Benefits and Compliance; Director of Records, Labor Relations and Employee Relations; Affirmative Action Coordinator; and Coordinator of Special Programs and Director of the Early Intervention Program at the Trumbull Campus.

Tiffany received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from ������, and a Juris Doctor degree from Western Michigan University’s School of Law.

Virtual Faculty and Staff Exercise Classes Expanded Offerings

In our continuing effort to provide safe and diverse exercise options for Kent State faculty and staff, Employee Wellness and Recreational Services are expanding our live virtual exercise offerings for the Fall semester.

The following sessions will be available to all full and part-time faculty and staff beginning Monday, August 31. Registration is now open for August and September classes.

All fitness levels are welcome. You can choose the pace and intensity that works best for you. All you need to participate is comfortable clothing (shoes optional), a bottle of water, a mat if you so choose, and an internet connection.

With health and safety in mind, all sessions will be offered virtually via Zoom. During the class, you may choose to open your webcam for a more connected experience, but you can keep it closed if you prefer. Zoom also offers a chat feature, so you can interact with your fellow Flashes while breaking a sweat. 

Employees participating in the will earn 10 Tier 2 points for each class. Pre-registration is required. Visit our  to register for each session you would like to attend. The link to join your Zoom session will come via email. Make sure your includes your first and last name to ensure we can capture your attendance and award your Tier 2 points! 

In addition to these live offerings, Recreational Services offers a robust list of , including strength, cardio, dance, yoga and Pilates options, all pre-recorded to incorporate into your schedule. If you're looking for even more variety, to check out our top picks. 

Don’t forget, make yourself and your health a priority each day!

Last Chance to Qualify for Your $300 and “Know Your Numbers” -  August 12

Preventive care has become one of the victims of the coronavirus, with Americans forced to skip routine physicals and screenings. Following the advice of your primary care physician, we want to encourage you to resume your routine physical and age-appropriate screenings where practical.

To assist in that endeavor, we have resumed our on-campus biometric "Know Your Numbers" screenings provided by physician-owned wellness partner, Be Well Solutions.  Within minutes, employees will have their personal results for total cholesterol (HDL and LDL), triglycerides, blood pressure, glucose, and body mass index.

Incentives Continue
We will also continue with the wellness incentive associated with the Employee Wellness program, Wellness Your Way. So, a win/win for you and your health. Learn your essential numbers and earn wellness dollars for your wallet.

Action Steps
Participation in an annual "Know Your Numbers" health screening is incentivized under Tier 1 of the . For the 2020 reward program, your screening must be completed between September 1, 2019 - August 31, 2020 (Tier 1 deadline extended due to COVID-19). You can take advantage of the convenient and free onsite screenings by Be Well Solutions* or have one completed with your primary care physician and have the results populated on the Tier 1 Physician Screening Form available on the . The choice is yours.

How to Schedule Your Appointment

• Login to your private Be Well portal at portal.bewelldata.com. If you have never logged into the portal,  for first-time login instructions. 
• Once logged in, click on "Worksite Screening" under "My Appointments". 
• Choose the date that best fits your schedule. The last available date is August 12.

Added Safety Measures
In adherence with CDC, state and local government guidelines, Employee Wellness and Be Well Solutions have enhanced and updated our protocols to safely deliver onsite screenings to Kent State faculty and staff.  to learn about these enhanced safety measures, participant expectations, and general flow prior to attending your screening.

For questions, please contact Employee Wellness at 330-672-7505 or wellness@kent.edu. For scheduling questions, please contact Be Well directly at 1-888-935-7378.

Kent Engaged and Emerging Professionals Offers Webinar: Best Practices to Beat Burnout

Kent Engaged and Emerging Professionals (KEEP) will host a special guest speaker, Christopher Perry, director of Corporate Sales at University Tees, on Thurs., Aug. 13, from noon - 1 p.m.  Perry will offer valuable information on how to "Beat Burnout" in the workplace.

All Kent State faculty and staff are welcome to attend this virtual meeting held via KEEP Teams at .

Important Information about Final Grading of Summer 2020 Full Term

Online final grading for Summer 2020 Full Term, Second 7 Weeks, and Summer 3 (POT 1, W2, S3) begins Tuesday, August 11, via FlashFAST. Grading is also now available for any Summer 2020 course section that was flexibly scheduled. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Sunday, August 16. Any final grades for Summer 2020 courses not reported in FlashFAST by the grades processing deadline will have to be submitted using the Grade Change Workflow. These Summer 2020 courses will be available in the Workflow on Tuesday, August 18.

To access Final Grades via FlashFAST, log into FlashLine and click on the Faculty & 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 & 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 are 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 and/or FlashLine by improving your connection to the server. Our Helpdesk is prepared to help with these issues. Please contact them at 330-672-HELP (4357) for one-on-one assistance and technical issues.