Vol. XXXVI, No. 11

April 2, 2007

This Week at Valencia

Monday, April 2

Professional Staff Leadership Team, 2 p.m., DTC, Conference Rm. A/B

Career Program Advisory, 3 p.m., Osceola Campus, TBD

Wednesday, April 4

Design & Operations-Deans, 1 p.m., West Campus, TBD

Thursday, April 5

Atlas Access Mtg., 9 a.m., East Campus, 5-217D

College Learning Council, 2:30 p.m., DTC, Conference Rm. A/B

Friday, April 6

Leadership Symposium, 2 p.m., West Campus, HSB

Commencement Ceremonies

Commencement ceremonies will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2007, at the Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee . The commencement ceremony will begin at 10:00 a.m. Please allow adequate travel time.

All ceremony participants are to wear full academic regalia and report to room number 157 at the Silver Spurs Arena between 9-9:30 a.m. Staff will be available at the main entrance to direct you to this room.

Please remember that a ticket is necessary for each family member, including children, regardless of age. If you wish to obtain tickets for guests, please contact Paula Kerr, administrative assistant, Admissions and Records, ext. 1506.

Important Human Resource Information For all 10-Month Faculty

There are 26 pay periods in the academic year 2007-2008. All 10-month faculty have the option of having their base salary disbursed in 22 payments over ten months, based on academic appointment, or in 26 payments over twelve months. Once the first payroll for the academic year is processed, this option can not be changed until the next academic year .

Human Resources has revised the way we communicate the opportunity for faculty to change their salary payment option for the coming academic year. We will post a notice, similar this one, in the Bulletin but faculty will no longer receive a mailing at their home address regarding this subject. This change will improve efficiency, save postage and trees, and reduce the number of unsolicited offerings received by mail.

All 10-month faculty will continue to have the June/July window to revise their salary payment option for the coming academic year. Faculty who wish to make a change will be required to complete a form, available online at the HR website, and submit it to Human Resources no later than July 31. Changes are then effective for the first payday in the new academic year.

Please contact Vicki Nelson at ext.8031 if you have any questions.

News from Procurement

Policy Review - Valencia Community College Policy #6Hx28:07-26, Code of Ethics for Public Employees, outlines provisions established by code that regulates activities such as, but not limited to: solicitation and acceptance of gifts, doing business with the college, unauthorized compensation, and conflicting employment or contractual relationships. Additional information may be found on this topic in the Florida Statutes, Section 240.319.

W-2 vs.1099 - Please note that IRS regulations prohibits the college from paying an individual as an employee and also as an independant contractor. Employees of the college receive a W-2 statement for wages earned and independent consultants receive a 1099 form to acknowledge and report their income. Individuals cannot receive a W-2 and 1099 from the same institution. Please contact Finance or Procurement for assistance in determining the status of a potential contractor.

For a list of all college policies please visit the web-page: http://www.valenciacc.edu/policies/

Surplused Equipment - Worn out or obsolete equipment may be surplused by completing a property control form, available at http://www.valenciacc.edu/property management/. The equipment will be removed from active inventory after approval by the District Board of Trustees. Once equipment is surplused, all service and maintenance agreements will be cancelled. Repairs and maintenance for equipment that is taken out of surplus for whatever reason, is solely the responsibility of the requesting department.

Expiring Procurement Cards - If your PCard is due to expire soon, don't be alarmed! A replacement will be ordered and sent to you on or before the last day of the expiration month. Be sure to update your new expiration date with all of your vendors and with Susan Ioder or Annmarie Wise in Procurement to prevent the disruption of your online Office Depot account. Please contact your PCard Administrator, Kacy Weeks, at ext.1974 for this or any issues regarding your PCard.

Leadership Valencia's Final Offerings for Spring

Introduction to GroupWise 7.0 - Learn new features of GroupWise 7.0. Discuss topics such as managing groups and address books, viewing multiple screens and effectively using your calendar. April 3, 2-4 p.m., East Campus, Room 8-221, registration code: TGW9 or April 4, 2-4 p.m., East Campus, Room 8-221, registration code: TGW10.

Formation is For Everyone - Bring your lunch and join us for ongoing, relaxed conversations around Parker Palmer's essay, '13 Ways of Looking at Community.' This is a time for faculty, staff and administrators to practice ways of speaking and being heard that allow a group to become a deeply respectful and caring community-in-learning where each person has a voice. April 3, 1-2 p.m., East Campus, Room 4-212B, registration code: LFORM6.

Living Wills, Healthcare Surrogate and Estate Planning - What are these? Why do you need them? What is probate? Why should I care? All of this and more will be discussed in this final of the series of workshops. April 3, 3-4 p.m., West Campus, Room 6-202, registration code: GLIVING.

Flash Advanced - Learn advanced painting, graphic and animation techniques. Then take your first step into using music in a movie. This course will show you how to use multiple scenes, create dynamic text, create animated buttons and add ActionScripts to control the behavior of your movie. April 4, 1-5 p.m., West Campus, Room 6-326A, registration code: TFA44.

WebCT6 Question and Answer Session - This session is an open lab forum designed as a follow-up to WebCT6 training participants. Please bring questions and every participant will have a workstation available. April 6, 10-11:30 a.m., East Campus, Room 4-122, registration code: TWQA3.

Circles of Belonging - Ever wonder what makes a person tick? Individual experiences play a huge part in shaping the way we interact with others and view the world around us. This in-depth interactive workshop will examine how diversity of experience impacts our interpersonal communications and relationships. Through discovery and discussion, learn more about yourself and the people around you. Participants will leave the session with an increased understanding of and appreciation for similarities and differences. April 12, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Criminal Justice Institute Auditorium, Room 100, registration code: PCOB6

AAWCC: Professional Development Day - Featuring guest speaker Lisa Broesch, director of Strategic Planning, Communications and Creative Development of one of the major Orlando theme parks. Lisa's passion for creative design and development of strategic objectives is paramount as the leader of creative and production teams. As the media spokesperson Lisa has provided dozens of interviews annually for television, radio and print media. Some highlights of her discussion are: building self image and overcoming common obstacles that stand in the way of a successful presentation; using energy and passion to build rapport with your employees, students, staff and faculty; establishing a fundamental understanding of the importance of maintaining a polished and professional image, particularly when working with coworkers and direct reports; effective body language and vocal techniques to project a polished and professional image and how to developing a "dress for success" attitude. April 12, 2-4:30 p.m., East Campus, Room 5-112, registration code: PAAWCC.

The Wellness Initiative has some great things going on this April:

•  Time to relax - mini massages are on the way

•  Introduction of a collegewide walking program to help employees get moving!! April 18th is National Walk at Lunch Day. Try to plan 15 or 30 minute walks at some time throughout the day!! (Please note: The printed version of the Bulletin has an incorrect date of April 8.)

•  Take a look at the Wellness Program website at http://valenciacc.edu/wellness/. If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know.

•  Continued free exercise classes for all faculty and staff

•  Keep your eyes out for fun activities starting in the summer!

Weight Watchers Update - As of March 23, Valencia has lost a total of 714.4 lbs with Weight Watchers! What a great job they are all doing!! If you are interested in joining Weight Watchers, contact Debi Jakubcin in the East Campus Fitness Center at ext. 2281.

A Warm Valencia Welcome to These New Full-time Employees

John Drimbea , technical document specialist, Admissions and Records-West, SSB-106, mc 4-8, ext. 1107

Kelvin Forde , security officer, Security-Osceola, Portable L, mc 6-5, ext. 4000 (previously P/T hourly)

Jeffrey Hogan , instructional technology support specialist, Nursing-West, HSB-299D, mc 4-14, ext. 5564

A Fond Farewell and Best Wishes to

Sue Bouchard , Human Resources who retired 3/20/07

Thank You

It has been a pleasure working with the staff and faculty at the West Campus for the last six winters. I'm moving to Sarasota next winter. I have taught at four community colleges and Valencia is one of the BEST community college in these United States . Keep up the good work!

   - Joe Rich ("snowbird" from Buffalo , N.Y.), Business & Mathematics Depts., West Campus