Category: Development and Training

Training, education and ongoing professional development is very important to your ongoing success at MSU. This category highlights professional development news, views and opportunities.

Want to Win a Tablet? Put Your Financial Knowledge to the Test!

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160x600_TIAA_CREF_whiteboardThe What’s Your Financial IQ 2.0 challenge, sponsored by one of MSU’s retirement plan vendors TIAA-CREF, just might be the easiest way to win a free tablet computer. From April 1 to April 22, participate by answering questions that will help you learn important information regarding financial planning. Every day, What’s Your Financial IQ 2.0 will feature new topics and questions, allowing you to show what you know. Every time that you play, you will be entered to win one of three tablet computers. The more that you play, the better your chances are to win. Sign on frequently to keep the odds in your favor! Don’t worry if you aren’t in the financial know either, all responses are completely confidential.

So go ahead, get started today! Topics vary and will cover retirement, taxes, healthcare and privacy. All MSU employees are eligible to win. You can see last year’s winners here.

Measure Value with These Courses!

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How do you know the functions and services you offer are providing what your “customer” needs? And, if so, do you have the data to back that up? MSU leadership is promoting and supporting data-driven decision making. How do you know what to measure and who to ask? Attending two upcoming Professional Development Services (PDS) courses offered will help you decide what you should measure and then create a plan to do it.

Business Presentation
Assessments and surveys can help you better present your programs and services’ value to MSU leadership!

On Wednesday, March 25, from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. you can attend Proving Value: Introduction to Assessments, for free. How do you know the programs you offer are adding value? Assessments provide a method for determining what to measure, how to measure and who to ask. This session will cover a wide range of assessment topics such as, developing an effective assessment plan, collecting data, and interpreting and reporting your results.

The second class, Proving Value: Designing Effective Surveys,  will be held on Monday, April 20, from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. and is also free. This course will discuss the best ways to get feedback from your customers to ensure your programs and services are adding value. This interactive session will help you in developing surveys that are useful, informative, and contribute to data-informed decision making. You will also discuss how to make your surveys user-friendly and increase survey response rates. The presenter for each of these courses is Paul Goldblatt of the MSU Residential and Hospitality Services Assessment Office.

For more information about these courses please visit the PDS site or download their catalog which details many more professional development courses offered throughout this year!

Electronic I-9 Tips: Hiring International Employees Correctly

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Our electronic I-9 system is now fully-operational and has made on-boarding duties much easier for the MSU community. In order to keep the I-9  procedure running as smoothly as possible, please keep these tips in mind when processing international employees:

  • International employees cannot use an “unclean” social security card. “Unclean” social security cards will display the phrase “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION”.  Do not accept “unclean” social security cards as valid documentation.
  • Very few employees fall under the non-citizen U.S. national category. Only those born or with ties to the outlying U.S. possessions of American Samoa and Swains Island are born as non-citizen United States nationals. Verify if these characteristics apply before accepting an I-9 with non-citizen U.S. national citizenship.
This social security card cannot be used as a supporting document for the I-9 form.
Unclean social security cards CANNOT be used as a supporting document for the I-9 form.
  • Employees must present one piece of documentation from List A or one piece of documentation from List B accompanied by one piece of documentation from list C. The following List-A documents are typically-accepted for international employees:
    • Foreign passport with I-94 or I-94A and I-20
    • Foreign Passport with I-94 or I-94A and DS-2019.

Enhance Your Service With The Spartan Experience

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Said one participant, “[The Spartan Experience is] one of the most fun, memorable customer service classes I’ve attended.”
The Spartan Experience program addresses the key concepts, habits and vital behaviors that are universal to providing excellent service and creating outstanding experiences. The program provides the foundation and tools that equip staff supervisors and managers to define the service experience in their specific unit. It helps all participating understand how they help MSU distinguish and embrace a high-performance customer-service culture. Since its start in October 2013, over 1,600 employees have participated in The Spartan Experience from over 30 departments. More than 400 supervisors have attended Leading the Spartan Experience, designed to introduce them to the concepts and resources available.

Don’t hesitate, register for The Spartan Experience today! To do so, log into EBS and select the Training Opportunities quick link under your ESS tab.

This spring, there will be multiple classes held:

Dates:
Thursday, January 15
Friday, January 16
Friday, February 20
Monday, February 23
Tuesday, February 24
Thursday, March 12
Friday, March 13
Monday, March 16
Thursday, April 16
Friday, April 17
Monday, April 20
Tuesday, April 21

Location:
Suite 10, Nisbet  Building

Time:
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Also, for supervisors, Leading the Spartan Experience is available:

Dates:
Tuesday, February 3
Thursday, March 19
Monday, April 16

Location:
Suite 10, Nisbet Building

Time:
2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

 

What is your New Year’s Resolution?

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That last ten pounds. Quitting smoking.  Discarding your fashion faux pas from the past year. Every year, we think about what to get rid of. Why not focus on gaining something, like a little knowledge?New Year's Resolution Note

Today’s careers are more demanding than ever. What is cutting edge today may well be obsolete tomorrow. Professional development and job skills training have become an essential part of most careers. But how do you find the time to perform the obligations associated with your job when you are trying to stay on top of your skills with ongoing training and other professional development activities?

elevateU can help to meet these demands. Take a course, whenever it’s convenient for you.  Watch a five minute video to boost a specific skill.  Download an audio book to listen to on your commute.  So many options, to make the most of your precious time.

As we approach a new year, you may want to watch this elevateU video:Continue Reading… What is your New Year’s Resolution?

Clerical-Technical Award 2014

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Annually, the Clerical-Technical Award is presented to an exemplary clerical or technical employee at MSU. The award is made possible by Dr. Charles and Marjorie Gliozzo who established a fund in honor of Thomas and Concettina Gliozzo in 2001. According to Dr. Gliozzo, “the CTS are the backbone and the infrastructure of the university and they deserve recognition.”

Anne Simon poses with her cake at the 2014 CT Award ceremony.
Anne Simon shows off her celebratory cake at the 2014 CT Award ceremony.

The recipient of the 2014 Clerical-Technical Award is Anne Simon. Simon has been a dedicated MSU employee for 29 years. She began working for the College of Music in 2005 and quickly became indispensable to the department, acting as the sole office assistant in the graduate office. While Simon has myriad responsibilities in this position, she has proven to be an amicable and diligent worker, a wonderful colleague, and a fantastic resource. An intimate ceremony was held in Anne’s honor on October 31st. Present were co-workers, students, friends, family, and Anne’s supervisor, David Rayl. Rayl nominated Anne along with several co-workers and students.Continue Reading… Clerical-Technical Award 2014

elevateU Contest Winners

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If you attended this year’s HR benefits Fair, you may have noticed that Professional Development Services ran a contest. Everyone who completed a class between October 14 and October 31 in elevateU was entered into a drawing to win one of two prizes. The winners are:

Contest Winner Jamie Lake
elevateU Contest Winner Jamie Lake poses with her State Room gift card and elevateU headphones.

Dennis Bond, Manager of Web Services, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, who won a basket full of MSU items, including a beautiful stadium blanket.

Jamie Lake, Payroll, Residential and Housing Services, who won a $50 gift certificate to the State Room.

Dennis has been making the most out of his elevateU access. “I’ve really enjoyed using elevateU. It’s quick and easy to jump into a course, and it’s also easy to return if you have to put it down. I’d definitely recommend trying it and have already started assigning courses to my own team.”

Many others have found elevateU helpful as well, both in building skills for their current job, as well as positions they may aspire to. Here are the top 10 classes that MSU employees have taken so far:Continue Reading… elevateU Contest Winners

Transfer Historical ANGEL Content to the University Archives

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Did your unit conduct university business using ANGEL Groups? Have you used ANGEL to store meeting minutes, policy documentation, or other business records? Do you have course syllabi or other content on ANGEL that’s not being migrated to Desire2Learn?

If you conducted university business using ANGEL Groups, your ANGEL content may be of historical value and eligible for transfer to the University Archives. The University Archives has a mission and mandate to collect, preserve, and provide access to the university’s institutional historical and scholarly records, including digital material.

With the permanent decommissioning of ANGEL set for May 15, 2015, it’s important to ensure that your business and curricular records of historical value are transferred to the Archives, particularly for content that will not be migrated to Desire2Learn.

Records of historical value potentially stored in ANGEL include:

  • Meeting agendas and minutes
  • Policy documents
  • Course syllabi
  • Curriculum documentation
  • Instruction notes
  • Research Data

If you think your ANGEL Group includes historical business records or curricular content, please contact Lisa Schmidt or Ed Busch at the University Archives, archives@msu.edu or 517-355-2330, with any questions and for assistance in identifying and transferring these records.

elevateU Contest

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elevateU is an incredible electronic tool that allows MSU faculty and staff to further their professional development at no charge! Sound too good to be true? Well, it just got better! If you complete a courseElevate U Horiz CMYK green in elevateU by this Friday, October 31, you will be entered to win either a Spartan Gift Basket or a $50 gift card to the State Room.

Here’s how:

  • Access elevateU through the EBS portal, www.ebs.msu.edu
  • Click on Employee Self Service (ESS) and then “Professional Development”
  • Click on elevateU, located under “Training Opportunities”
  • View course titles by topic area in the “Resource Catalog” or enter keywords in the “Search & Learn” bar
  • Launch a course, complete a course- YOU ARE ENTERED!

Click here for additional details.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

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We’ve all seen the emails and news stories and heard the horror stories from friends and co-workers, but are you doing enough to protect yourself online?

Protect your devices from attack, damage or unauthorized access.
Protect your devices from attack, damage or unauthorized access.
  • If you have a smartphone, it IS a computer and should be protected like one.  All users of smartphones should have unique passwords (not 1234), regularly run an anti-virus program, and enable anti-theft precautions.  Visit the AppStore,  Google Play or Windows Apps (depending on your platform) for options.
  • Keep your operating system updated.
  • NEVER share your passwords.  No legitimate company will ever ask for your password by email or phone.
  • Don’t open email attachments you were not expecting or from unknown sources.
  • Don’t click on advertisements in web pages.  If you are interested in something mentioned in an ad, go directly to the company website.
  • If you are prompted to update a program, be sure the update is legitimate.  Go to the vendor website or open the program on your computer to do the update.
  • Review statements for credit cards and any accounts you manage online and alert the provider of any anomalies.

For more information, visit tech.msu.edu/secureIT 0r October’s tech blog article Our Shared Responsibility.