TEAM ACTION PLANS POSTED ON WEBSITE
Program Focus Teams and subcommittees have been actively developing,
writing, and posting action plans to the web since the Spring Action
Conference for all Extension faculty. These action plans are to assist
Extension agents in development of their local plans. To view these
plans, go to
Employee Resources
website. Click on
Program Development and Reporting link on the left side of the page.
Then you will see in the center of that page the
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/Employee_Resources/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=292
. Click it, and you will find a listing
of all the team action plans within each of the strategic opportunities
for K-State Research and Extension.
Not all team action plans are posted as
yet. Come back to this page from time to time to see what new action
plans have been developed.
I am bringing you all this information on
behalf of the Assistant Directors. If you have specific questions, don't
hesitate to contact Paula Peters, Pat Murphy, Pat McNally, and Marie
Blythe for further information. - Daryl Buchholz
dbuchhol@ksu.edu
DO YOU NEED TO REVISE YOUR FORM W-4?
As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the
Making Work Pay Tax Credit means more take home pay for most employees.
Employees receive the credit incrementally through a reduction in the
amount withheld from their paychecks beginning March 20, 2009. However,
the withholding tax reduction may be significantly different than the
amount of the credit that they will be able to claim on their personal
income tax returns. The IRS is advising certain employees that their
withholding tax deductions may not be sufficient to cover their tax
liability when they file their personal income tax returns next April.
This link identifies those employees and explains the actions they
should take:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4766.pdf .
Changes to Form W-4 can be made through
HRIS Employee Self Service at
https://www.as.ksu.edu/psp/HRIS/?cmd=login&languageCd=ENG& .
--Division of Human Resources
UPCOMING EVENTS
KFGA Summer Fruit Bus Tour
July 19, 2009
Brochure
K-State Gardens Annual Iris Sale
July 25, 2009
8 a.m. - noon
KSU Gardens, 1500 Denison Avenue
K-State Research & Extension Center Field Day, Olathe
July 25, 2009
Brochure
Bedding Plant Field Day
Kansas Greenhouse Growers & Landscape Industry Professionals
July 28, 2009
K-State Research & Extension Center, Olathe
Brochure
Tomato Day
July 29, 2009
Sedgwick County Extension Education Center
Brochure
Turf & Ornamentals Field Day
August 6, 2009
John C. Pair Horticulture Research Center, Wichita
Brochure
Kansas Nursery & Landscape Association
Summer Conference
August 11 & 12, 2009
Brochure
Timber Tax Seminar
August 19, 2009
Shawnee Co. Extension Office
--Christy Dipman cdipman@ksu.edu
STATE 4-H SHOOTING SPORTS INSTRUCTOR
WORKSHOP
On-line Registration Deadline is July 31, 2009. The State 4-H Shooting
Sports Action Team is conducting a second Instructor/Coordinator
Workshop on August 28-30, 2009 in Larned. This is an excellent time to
recruit new county coordinators and discipline instructors for those
counties whose programs have lapsed or if you would like to have a
program for the first time! All participants who registered last spring
but could not attend due to the blizzard, have credit and need to
re-register by going to
www.Kansas4-H.org and click on the Green Register Button at
the upper left of the screen.
Additional details can be found by
clicking on the What's Hot list and then going to the workshop pdf or
word file at the bottom of the Shooting Sports Events list. --Jim Adams
adams@ksu.edu
YOUTH LEADERSHIP FORUM WORKSHOP PRESENTERS NEEDED
The Kansas Youth Leadership Forum will be held at Rock Springs 4-H
Center in November. Teens, ages 14-18, are the audience.
Currently we are recruiting one hour workshop presenters.
Workshops should focus on some aspect of leadership. The workshops
will be held Saturday, November 21, 2009 and will begin at 8:30 a.m.,
2:15 p.m., and 3:45 p.m. Proposals are due to the State 4-H Office on
August 1. A letter with details and a proposal form can be found on
the 4- H website:
http://www.kansas4h.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=48
.
Please
contact Beth Hinshaw with questions,
bhinshaw@ksu.edu
.
--Beth Hinshaw
EPSILON SIGMA PHI ALPHA RHO AWARDS
Applications due August 15, 2009
The Epsilon Sigma Phi - Alpha Rho Chapter is seeking applications for
the 2009 chapter awards. Kansas extension professionals are extremely
talented and should have their skills and programs acknowledged at the
state and national levels. I encourage ESP members to apply or nominate
your colleagues, administrators, or mentors for one of the following
awards:
Distinguished Service
Distinguished Team
Early Career
Mid Career
International Service
Retiree Service
Friend of Extension
Horizon- County (2); Area (1); State (1)
Meritorious Service- County (2); Area (1); State (1)
Application process for awards may be
downloaded at
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/esp-AlphaRho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=11 .
Applications for awards are due August
15, 2009. Applications should be sent electronically to M. Gayle Price,
awards committee chair, Southeast Area Office,
gprice@ksu.edu . if you have
questions, please contact me at 620-431-1530. --Gayle Price
ESP ENDOWMENT FUND
GRANT PROPOSALS DUE AUGUST 15
Do you have an innovative educational program that you always wanted
to offer or a great professional development opportunity that you have
never had the funds to participate in? If so, here is your opportunity
to put your dreams into action.
Current ESP members are eligible to
submit proposals to the Alpha Rho Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi Endowment
Fund Board. There are two categories: professional development
opportunities and innovative educational programs.
The application is currently available
online at the Epsilon Sigma Phi website:
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/esp-AlphaRho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=1 .
Click on the Endowment button, then
Endowment Grant Application Process. The process is all electronic for
the first time. No form needs to be completed; just follow the process
outlined.
This same information is also available
from Employee Resources website. Select the purple box labeled
Nominations for Awards. It is located with other ESP information for
Recognition and Travel Grants.
All ESP applications are due by August
15, 2009. They should be sent electronically to Eric Otte,
eotte@ksu.edu . You will also need to
request a note of approval from your Area Director or Unit Head in lieu
of their signature. --Margaret Phillips
margaret@ksu.edu
WOMEN'S HEALTH MATTERS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 8
The
Women’s Health Matters conference and breakfast will be at 9 a.m.
to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 8, at Pottorf Hall in CiCo Park.
Registration and breakfast will be followed by two breakout sessions
featuring four different presentations for women to choose from. A
small health fair will be set up throughout the event, and prizes will
be given away.
The presentations
are “Beyond Fat Talk: Women and Body Image“ by Dianna Schalles, Lafene
Health Center; “Women’s Basic Safety and Self Defense“ by Capt. Jeff
Hooper, Riley County Police Department; “Energy Efficiency” by Jamiee
Marker, Westar Energy; and “Dietary Supplements: Fact and Fiction” by
Ginny Barnard, Riley County K-State Research and Extension.
The health fair will
include body composition and blood pressure tests, a massage
therapist, and informational exhibits.
Cost is $5 for one
lady or $8 for two ladies. Advance registration is required by Friday,
July 31. Registration forms are available on the Web at
www.rileycountyks.gov or
by contacting Julie Gibbs at the Riley County Manhattan Health
Department, 785-776-4779, ext. 274, or
jgibbs@rileycountyks.gov .
This event is being
coordinated by representatives of K-State’s Johnson Center for Basic
Cancer Research, Mercy Regional Health Center, Riley County K-State
Research & Extension, and Riley County Manhattan Health Department.
--Marcia Locke,
Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research
DESIGN FOR
LEARNING - FALL 2009
"Design for Learning," a workshop series delivered via distance
education, will be held in the fall of 2009. This is an on-going
partnership with extension in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and
Kansas. Nebraska will be facilitating the offering this session.
The five sessions will be from 10 a.m. -
11:30 a.m. central time on October 9, October 23, November 6, November
20, and December 4, 2009.
Design for Learning Description:
Teaching a class requires knowledge of
subject matter, plus an awareness of key elements that contribute to a
positive learning experience. This class will cover the keys to
effective course design. Participants will be expected to read materials
independently and then participate in a phone conference to discuss
information and apply concepts to their teaching needs. A personal
project and between session online discussions will enhance the
learner's experience.
Topics addressed include:
understanding learners,
organizing lesson content,
selecting appropriate tools,
creating an effective learning environment,
assessing outcomes,
using the logic model and incorporating transformational education.
Class size is limited and available seats
will go quickly. To register for this session, contact Doug Swanson at
the University of Nebraska,
dswanson8@unlnotes.unl.edu
.
More details will be sent to registrants
as the time nears. --Margaret Phillips
margaret@ksu.edu
UPDATE -
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM
It is time to enter 2009-2010 professional development opportunities
into the Professional Development Catalog. The following link
will take you to the Professional Development website. Select
Professional Development System and log in - without the ad/ before
your eid.
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/Employee_Resources/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=164
.
The system was recently updated with some
new features, including:
Copy feature
- in the edit mode of an offering allows you to copy a current offering
and edit it for the next year.
Calendar feature
- dated offerings will go to the master calendar at the same time they
enter the professional development catalog. This is a one step automatic
process. You do not need to separately add to the master calendar
system.
Archive Copy feature
- Offerings are archived when they pass the offered date. From the
archive an offering can be copied and updated.
Professional Development Plan
- offering selected by an individual by checking the box in the left
hand column next to it will automatically show up on MY HOME and when
the professional development plan tab is selected will show up there to
be selected into the professional development plan. The professional
development plan is part of an agent's personnel review process.
Not new, but just to reinforce features:
Attendee list
- once an offering is selected from the catalog, the attendee's name is
added to a list. The attendee tab will allow everyone to view potential
participants for professional development offerings. It also allows the
main contact viewing ease to see how many participants plan to
participate in their offering.
Program year:
Begins October 1.
We are finishing up the 2008-09 program
year. Professional development offerings in the catalog that have dates
will go to the archives automatically once the date has passed.
Offerings that don't have dates need to be copied and updated to be
available for selection in 2009-2010 Professional Development Plans.
If you have questions, please contact
Margaret Phillips, margaret@ksu.edu
. --Margaret Phillips
COMMUNICATION MINUTE: HELPFUL TIPS FOR
SOLVING COMPUTER PROBLEMS AND WORKING WITH TECH SUPPORT
Calling Tech Support should be a pleasant experience. Here are a few
simple tips you can use to help solve any computer problem you may have,
as well as help you communicate your problem effectively to Tech
Support.
1) Before you even have a problem, make
sure you have the KSRE Helpdesk program installed. It will allow our
technicians to connect to your computer and help you remotely with any
issues. You can find it on your Start Menu, under All Programs, in a
folder called "KSRE Helpdesk" or "KSRE Helpdesk Secure Edition." If you
don't have it, you can install it from the KSRE Tool Kit or from our
TechWeb website at
https://www.ksre.ksu.edu/techweb/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=396 (look
under Required Programs).
2) Look for symptoms related to your
problem. If you are having trouble getting e-mail, check to see if you
can even get to the Internet. Similarly, if you are having problems with
Microsoft Word, open up Excel or PowerPoint and see if they have the
same issue. Also, check with others nearby to see if they have the same
issues. If you have a good idea of where the problem is, you will be
able to describe it clearly.
3) Listen to what your computer is
telling you. If your computer makes a new, strange noise, takes much
longer to start up than normal, or programs pop up that you've never
heard of, most likely something about your computer changed. If you
don't remember doing anything to cause that change, it could be signs of
an impending computer problem. Don't be afraid to ask someone about it,
since it is much easier to stop problems before they happen.
4) Write down everything. If your
computer gives you an error message, write down at least the message
word for word. We can use the exact text of the message while we search
for solutions online. If you change something or install something you
aren't sure about, write it down in case we need to go back and undo it
later. Finally, if you think of any computer questions you would like to
have answered, write them down. It will be much easier if you can refer
to notes instead of remembering everything when you have someone on the
phone.
Finally, don't be afraid to call Tech
Support if you are not sure what to do next. It is always much better to
ask for help first instead of the problem becoming worse as time goes
on. Our staff is always ready to help you. --Russ Feldhausen
russfeld@ksu.edu
