Ka Pe‘ahi Lono: Monthly Message for September

Date/Time sent: 09/01/2020 11:00 am

Aloha mai kākou!

Our theme for the month of Kepapamapa/September

E ala! E alu! E kuilima!
Awaken! Come together! Join hands!

At the August 20 UH Board of Regents Meeting, UH System President David Lassner, presented an overview of our institution’s forward moving plan entitled, Repositioning the University of Hawaiʻi for FY 2022 and Beyond. His powerpoint slide deck (pages 114-127) is attached and his presentation has been archived on the Board of Regents website. Also at this meeting, VP for Finance, Kalbert Young provided his FY21 financial report for the UH System, which included an overview of our UH West Oʻahu budget (pages 101-104). This Thursday, September 3, at the UH Board of Regents Budget and Finance Committee Meeting (10:30 a.m.), a more detailed overview of this budget will be presented. The report has been posted for public viewing. I strongly recommend that you review these documents.

In a nutshell, all our UH campuses are being hit hard by the economic impact of the pandemic. We will not bounce back to the funding levels of pre-fiscal year 2020. The deep cuts in our general funds ($2.2 million) will not be replaced and we may see more cuts to this funding stream. As a growth campus, many have enjoyed the opportunities of release time and overloads and overtime, which has led to generative growth of knowledge dissemination and development of critical signature programs. However, given the magnitude of our fiscal crisis, UH West Oʻahu must stabilize its foundation by strengthening our signature programs and critically investing in economic growth areas while also meeting the workload obligations of a teaching university. And we must do all of this while ensuring we do so with integrity and humanity.

We all know that education has a transformative impact – we have all experienced it ourselves and we have witnessed it in our students. It is our kāhea/calling to help future generations to experience that transformative power. To do so will require us all to participate in building strategies grounded in our Strategic Action Plan. Strategies that will assist us to plan forward within our fiscal constraints an affordable, quality education that culminates in a timely degree. We will need to work hard over the next two months using our expertise, experience, and common sense. And, we will need to act decisively as we utilize our resources wisely and sustainably.

Over the course of the month of September, I will be meeting with our campus leadership teams across every unit and I will schedule open zoom “talk stories” (similar to when I began in 2017 unfortunately without the food). I hope that you will participate in these conversations.

Mark your Calendars

Campus “Talk Story” Strategic Planning to Reimagine UH West Oʻahu

Tuesday, September 8, 4 – 5 p.m.
Thursday, September 10, 4 – 5 p.m.
Monday, September 14, 1 – 2 p.m.
Friday, September 25, 9 – 10 a.m.

You must register to receive the zoom invite 24 hours prior to the gathering.

RSVP to: uhwochan@hawaii.edu (corrected)

E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor

In this month’s Ka Peʻahi Lono:

In case you missed the Monday, August 31 This Week weekly bulletin, I have repeated my campus message above. Below – keep scrolling — Dr. Manu Meyer welcomes everyone back to a new and changing academic year as well as provides you with a bevy of awesome, enriching cultural activities to engage your students, family and friends. Important information is provided by our Business Office (Sheri Ching), our Human Resources Office (Nancy Nakasone), and UH-System VP IT & CIO (Garret Yoshimi). Please scroll down and review their messages.

Announcements

It is important that every member of our UH West Oʻahu ʻohana and our visitors to campus commit to the good health and safety of our campus community. In that spirit, we are asking everyone who comes to campus — students, employees, and visitors — to respect the Pueo Safety Promise.

I WILL —

Stay home if my temperature is higher than 100.4 or if I have been in close contact with a suspected or confirmed case.
Submit the UHWO Health APP/Web-Survey prior to coming to campus.
Wear a face covering, maintain safe physical distance, and practice good handwashing hygiene when on campus or doing university business.
Remain informed about health and safety guidelines and take steps to protect our campus staff, faculty, students, and guests.
Be kind and compassionate, caring for the well-being of our campus community.

Have a COVID-19 Question? The general public is welcome to call the Queen’s Health Systems COVID Hotline at 691-2619.

Final 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.

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. DUE: September 7.

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

https://westoahu.hawaii.edu/academics/advising/e-ala-pono/

Progress Update 1 – September 8 – 13, 2020
Progress Update 2 – October 12 – 21, 2020

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Leslie Opulauoho and the EAP Team at uhwoeap@hawaii.edu.

A Celebration of Good Works: Kūlia i ka nuʻu (Reach for the Summit!)

News Events that highlights the work of our students and faculty!

Thoughts from Kūlana O Kapolei, Dr. Manu Meyer

Blessings for the puka-thru of this Fall Semester!
Blessings for the steadiness of spirit and soul.
These are truly transformational times.
The Huliau is here.

See attached for an overview of enrichment opportunities for you, your haumana/students, and your ʻohana/family and hoaloha/friends.

How does that work?

Announcements/Reminders from our Business Office, Sheri Ching:

Extramural Grant/Award Effort Certifications:

To comply with the requirements of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Guidance and support the University’s system of internal controls, which provides reasonable assurance that compensation charges are accurately and properly allocated to an award, annual KFS Effort Certifications were generated in mid-August. Principle Investigators (PIs) should check their action list in KFS for effort certification eDocs and contact Keith Suyat-Terauchi (keith478@hawaii.edu) and/or Casi Fuellas (csakaida@awaii.edu). Keith/Casi will work with PIs to ensure effort certifications are approved and reasonably reflect compensation charged to their projects. The deadline for completion of these certifications is September 18, 2020.

Monitoring Available Funding:

In anticipation of a challenging fiscal year, it is critical for Account Supervisors (and their administrative staff that support their efforts) to monitor available funding in their respective accounts. Prior to approving requisitions, disbursement vouchers, and student employment hires/extensions, Account Supervisors need to verify that sufficient funding is available. To assist Account Supervisors, monitor available funding, the Business Office provides Budget Status Reports on a monthly basis and KFS may also be reviewed at any time. Additionally, open encumbrances should be reviewed and cleared as applicable to prevent any unnecessary restriction on available funding. For questions and/or assistance, please feel free to contact Sheri Ching (sheric@hawaii.edu; x2512).

Announcements/Reminders from our Human Resources Office, Nancy Nakasone:

COVID Telework for September

All employees on Telework are required to submit an updated Telework Form effective September 1, 2020. A new leave code has been set up to use starting September 1: COVID – TELEWORK.

If you were approved to Telework from September 1, 2020, please complete the online leave by using new “COVID-19 Telework” code.

Please submit in the UH Leave System your actual Telework days that you are working from home. If you are coming into work intermittently, do not include these days as a Telework day.

Example: 9/8 and 9/14 are on campus day, so on those days do not select a leave type.

Example: If you need to add additional leave to your covid-19 telework day use the “+” button to add the second column.

9/11 is 4 hours COVID-19 telework and 4 hours vacation

Important information regarding Vacation Forfeiture

OHR will be sending out a message on the first of every month from Sept to Dec reminding employees about vacation forfeiture.

Important Announcement from VP Garret Yoshimi, IT & CIO

You can reach him at: gyoshimi@hawaii.edu

We want to welcome the entire University of Hawaii community at all 10 of our campuses to the fall 2020 semester!

COVID-19 is top of mind for everyone this semester. UH information and resources are organized starting with the UH System site, links to campus resources, and the ITS COVID-19 technology resource page. Front and center for this fall is our new daily check-in app, LumiSight UH. Developed in partnership with DataHouse, the mobile and web app provides an easy and convenient reminder for each of us to confirm our daily health check.

Thank you to those who have already registered on LumiSight UH, and are regularly completing their daily check-ins! As a reminder, everyone must complete a daily check-in before coming to a UH campus or facility. Please keep your mobile device handy to provide verification of your “good” check-in status when you’re at a UH campus or facility. The LumiSIght UH app is available for free at the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, or accessed directly on the web. More information about LumiSight UH is available at the ITS COVID-19 resource page.

The impact of COVID-19 also extends into the world of cyber-threats, multiplying the number of ways that our systems may be attacked. Be vigilant and alert to possible phishing attacks, and make sure your security practices are up to date. Our InfoSec team publishes our minimum security standards, and useful resources and tips to help keep our UH community cyber-safe.

Please take full advantage of the range of services that we offer the UH community, including 24/7 phone and online access to our ITS Help Desk, and our Duo multi-factor authentication service to protect your UH credentials.

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding UH’s information technology services, please feel free to drop me a note at gyoshimi@hawaii.edu. You can also contact the ITS Help Desk, available 24/7 at help@hawaii.edu, or (808) 956-8883.

Announcements

Please refer to our weekly bulletins or E Kamakani Hou for more information, updates, news, and announcements.