Ka Pe‘ahi Lono: Monthly Message for September
Date/Time sent: 09/01/2021 9:00 amKa Peʻahi Lono (The News Call)
Peʻahi is not only a wave of the hand or a fan used to cool the skin but can also mean to brush, signal, or beckon. It is used in this context as beckon, or call, but one having to do with news or a report about something (lono). This particular peʻahi can be pictured as someone from a slight distance waving their hand, calling, “huuuuuuui!”, beckoning you to come near and get caught up on the news.
Aloha mai kākou!
I begin with a deeply grateful, Mahalo Nūnui!, to our faculty, staff, and student employees who worked diligently to prepare for “campus re-opening” on Monday, August 23. AND continued to monitor the campus throughout the first week to ensure we were doing our best to be responsible, to provide a safe and dynamic learning environment for all. To everyone who is working on campus or coming to campus to take advantage of our campus services, Mahalo Nūnui! for checking into LumiSight UH prior to coming to campus, being gracious when asked to show our “Green Go” site, and uploading either your COVID-19 Vaccination Card or Negative Test results. Mahalo! Mahalo! Mahalo!
This week two important articles were shared with Hawaiʻi’s communities. The first was written by Dr. Keawe Kaholokula from the John A. Burns School of Medicine, and the second written by Dr. Jon Osorio, Dean, Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. Take a moment to read and if you feel compelled, pass it along!
- Mythbusting 10 Fears & Rumors About COVID Vaccination
- Native Hawaiians should consider vaccines, set aside contempt for wearing masks
Your campus executive team and senior managers continue to place the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff at the forefront of all that we do. Our priority, in partnership with the UH System and our sister campuses, has been to protect our campuses and surrounding communities as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, using data and science-based information to inform every decision. It is no secret that I have been a constant advocate for the COVID-19 vaccine as the best defense against the spread of the disease and the clearest path to the resumption of our on-campus learning. Mahalo nui kākou as your response to the vaccine has been largely positive. Mahalo for making the choice to protect yourselves, your workmates and students, and your families!
Remember to review the UH policy on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing.
An important reminder and invitation from our Kulana O Kapolei, Dr. Manu Meyer:
Aunty Lynette is passionate about the distinctness of Native Hawaiian culture in this special place of Hawaiʻi. She is dedicated to bringing this uniqueness out into the world via her classes, and she loves Zoom! Why not start your week off with a beloved kupuna? This class is open to all, but please contact Aunty Manu Aluli Meyer (manulani@hawaii.edu) for class logistics. We meet every Monday from 9:30 am – 11:00 am. It all begins on August 30.
E komo mai e ʻoluʻolu mai ʻoe. Please know you are welcome.
Please take some time to review important information provided in September’s Ka Peʻahi Lono. Mahalo hou!
E mālama pono!
Maenette K.P. Benham, Chancellor
Important Reminders
Faculty Verification of Non-Participation and E Ala Pono
REMINDER: We need all our faculty and staff involved in every aspect of promoting student success. There are two (2) initiatives to promote student support and success (1) Faculty Verification of Non-Participation (No-Show) and (2) E Ala Pono Academic Progress Updates.
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The Faculty Verification of Non-Participation report helps our institution to comply with the UH System Executive Policy 7.209 certifying student attendance and participation in class by the end of the late registration period. Additionally, your reporting of students who are not participating in class (No-Show) helps our institution to comply with USDOE Title IV financial aid policy to identify the first day of academic engagement and the last day of engagement for students receiving financial aid. Note: compliance is required to ensure we can continue to award our students federal financial aid. You report through the MyUH Faculty Services Portal. For step-by-step instructions please see attached document. For step-by-step instructions, please visit https://www.hawaii.edu/
myuhinfo/pv-faculty/. DUE: Part of Term I (8/23/21-12/10/21) certifications are due by September 7. For all other Part of Term courses, please visit https://www.hawaii.edu/ myuhinfo/fall-2021/#WOA for deadlines. -
E Ala Pono Academic Progress Updates: This program partners faculty with our campus resources (Academic Advising, Counseling and tutoring/No’eau Center). Your participation assists us in identifying students who are struggling or exhibiting behaviors of concern early in the semester. This early alert progress updates will be available to faculty during the following periods through the My Success Portal
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- Progress Update 1 – September 7-12, 2021
- Progress Update 2 – October 11-20, 2021
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Leslie Opulauoho and the EAP Team at uhwoeap@hawaii.edu.
Instructional Faculty Support from UH System IT Services
A website for instructional faculty that provides information on whether students in their in-person classes are cleared to be on campus is now available. Class rosters will show a green check on the “in Compliance with UH COVID Policy” section that means the student has been vaccinated OR submitted a current negative COVID-19 test result.
Please be aware that there may be a delay from when a student uploads their information to the LumiSight UH app and when it appears on the website. In those cases, faculty may ask to see the student’s “you may report to campus” status on their LumiSight UH app. In instances when a student does not have a smartphone, you can ask them to show you their vaccination card or their negative COVID-19 test. Faculty are not required to monitor the status of the students.
The website and status verification process was established to ensure faculty feel safe in their classrooms. Procedures at the campus level are in place to monitor the vaccination and testing status of students. Please remember that COVID-19-related records, including “cleared to attend” status information, are sensitive and protected and must NOT be copied, shared or otherwise disclosed. For a summary of what faculty can and cannot ask regarding students’ COVID-19 vaccination and testing information, visit datagov.intranet.hawaii.edu/
The website can be accessed at www.star.hawaii.edu/
Kūlana O Kapolei – Community Service Dates
We would like to be clear that as our world changes, there is something that remains constant: aloha, pono, ʻike kupuna – compassion, truth and the wisdom of our elders. Here is how we are expressing this knowledge:
Uluniu Project
We have a coconut and ulu grove on campus! The Uluniu Project is located beside our Student Organic Garden and we are preparing to give away 500 niu seedlings on November 19 to welcome our Makahiki Season! Please, if you wish to join a cultural agroforestry movement, come to our workdays. Our UH West Oʻahu Aloha ʻĀina Student Service Club is putting this on so contact them to get the work dates and to let them know you’re coming: ahaaina@hawaii.edu
Hawaiʻi Food Bank distributions
Our UH West Oʻahu ʻohana is helping give food to our beloved community. Please, if you wish to be a part of our Hawaiʻi Food Bank distributions, we have three more dates: September 11, October 9, and November 6. We meet by 6:30 am and we’re pau by 10 a.m. All Volunteers must contact manulani@hawaii.edu to confirm their safe participation.
Hana Lawelawe: On Leadership
What has become quite clear over the last year is the need for us to think more holistically, systemically about Hawaiʻi’s economy with a focus on the health and well-being of all that nourishes us (mālama ʻāina). This call to action we hear from Dr. Albie Miles and Dr. Daniel Lipe through their work in the Sustainable Community Food Systems program as well as from Dr. Louis Herman through his writing and teaching in Future Primal and his work on the award-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher. We are reminded of how the earth can sustain us through the Niunow efforts of Dr. Manulani Meyer and Indragit Gunasekara. We hear the call to action to bring forward cultural traditions of healing from Aunty Lynette Paglinawan and advocacy to attend to our students by Dr. Steven Taketa. These are just a few faculty and staff names and programs — there are so many to mention!
A compelling perspective was recently shared by Dr. Kamana Beamer, UH Mānoa faculty member jointly appointed in the Richardson School of Law and Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. Read his opinion in the Ideas section of the Civil Beat entitled, “Give, Take, Regenerate: A Circular Economy Is Vital To Hawaiʻi’s Future.”
A Celebration of Good Works: Kūlia i ka nuʻu (Reach for the Summit!)
Take a look at the good works of our faculty, staff, students and alumni!
- Honor society holds strategic retreat on UH West Oʻahu campus
- Results for survey of UH West Oʻahu students ‘very positive’ overall
- Piliʻāina a ‘wonderful learning experience’ for faculty and staff
- Kaiāulu award shared by Distance Learning, OPDAS, and IT teams
- Explore Honouliuli’s history in new online exhibit
How does that work? Messages From Across Our Campus
Update from our UHWO Business Office
Business Office Microsite
In June, the Business Office launched its microsite. The microsite consists of the following four categories:
- Reference Guides – provides clarification and guidance on various University fiscal related policies and procedures.
- Forms – provides a “one-stop shop” on all fiscal related forms and links.
- Presentations & Training – provides links to System and Campus fiscal related training materials.
- Staff – contact information and an overview of responsibilities by staff member.
The home page also features announcements and a calendar of upcoming deadlines. Information included on the microsite will continue to be updated as necessary.
Purchasing Card (PCard) Program: Migration to SAP Concur
Beginning fiscal year 2022, the University’s PCard program transitioned to SAP Concur, a new reconciliation system that is used to manage all PCard transactions, including supporting documentation and approvals. Big thanks goes to Teri Yoshida-Freitas, Casi Fuellas, and Grace Baclig for their time and effort in working very closely with the System Office of Procurement Management (OPM) on the testing of this new system and providing much needed valuable feedback! With their expertise gained through this process, they were able to prepare user manuals to help guide both our PCardholders and Account Supervisors in the new process. Training was also held by the Business Office in July for active PCardholders to supplement training provided by OPM.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tax Clearance Exemption
Pursuant to the Governor’s Emergency Proclamation, signed August 5, 2021, IRS tax clearances are suspended for purposes of determining whether a vendor is Hawaii Compliance Express compliant. Please refer to the State Procurement Office Procurement Circular No. 2022-04 for further information.
Office of Research Services (ORS) Contracts and Grants Certification Program
Calling all current and prospective Principal Investigators and Project Staff! If you have not attended the ORS Contracts and Grants Certification Program, now is your opportunity. This Program provides continuing education to assist the University of Hawaii (UH) research community to better understand the extramural proposal and award process at UH. The program was formerly a hybrid of in-person classes and online courses, but as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been converted to be fully accessible online. To access the course, go to Laulima (laulima.hawaii.edu), then “Membership”, and look for “ORS Certification”. If you do not see it in your Laulima profile, please submit an ORS ticket at http://go.hawaii.edu/eVP, and select the “Certification Program — Request Access” ticket type.
The program consists of seven (7) modules, however, our office can assist with recommending modules that may be most beneficial for your current or prospective role. Please feel free to contact Keith Suyat-Terauchi (keith478@hawaii.edu), Casi Fuellas (csakaida@awaii.edu), or Sheri Ching (sheric@hawaii.edu) with questions.
What is FERPA?
The University of Hawai’i is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of student education records and monitoring the release of information from those records, in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). UH employees with access to student education records have a legal responsibility to protect the privacy of students by using information only for legitimate educational reasons to instruct, advise, or otherwise assist students. FERPA also assures certain rights to students regarding their education records. These rights do not transfer to parents, guardians, spouses, or other family members without the express written permission of the student.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (also known as the Buckley Amendment), affords students four primary rights with respect to their education records. They have the right to:
- Inspect and review their education records;
- Have some control over the disclosure of information from their education records;
- Seek to amend incorrect education records;
- File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Family Policy Compliance Office.
Learn more about how FERPA protects the confidentiality of student records at:
Are a student’s COVID-19-related education records protected under FERPA?
Yes, a student’s COVID-19-related education records are protected by FERPA. Generally, the use of these education records is restricted to authorized institutional use and access is limited to school officials provided the University has determined those officials have legitimate educational interests in accessing the information. Therefore, COVID-19 related education records that are accessed by authorized school officials should not be copied, shared or disclosed. For more specific guidance, visit datagov.intranet.hawaii.edu/
Best practices involving third party software and services
- If users need to create an account, inform them to not use their UH username and password, if possible. Mirroring credentials poses a security risk.
- Do not forget about your data after the contract or subscription ends, especially if there is Sensitive or Regulated data involved. Remind users to delete their account and materials when the platform is no longer being used (e.g., when the class is over).
Questions?
Email the UH Data Governance Office at datagov@hawaii.edu.
Important Announcements
Refer to our weekly bulletins or our news site Ka Puna O Kaloʻi for more information, updates, news, and announcements.