Ka Pe‘ahi Lono: Monthly Message for September 2024

Date/Time sent: 09/03/2024 1:00 pm

UH West Oʻahu Value Proposition

We prepare 21st Century leaders, career creators through integrated, transdisciplinary programs where learners and teachers, together, discover and innovate and engage diverse communities to create a vibrant and socially just world.

Section divider made up of two canoe paddles.

Hoʻokāhi ka ilau like ana (Wield the paddles together)

Welina!!

How wonderful to greet so many students, faculty, and staff (and visitors) to campus! Many of our campus leaders alongside staff from the Noʻeau Center spent the first two mornings of the fall semester greeting folks (handing out both healthy snacks and fabulous candy). Indeed, there were so many happy, vibrant faces! Mahalo again to each of you for generating the learning “buzz” on campus. Let’s keep working together to get more students back to campus!

Collage of faculty and staff welcoming students onto campus.

For those who missed the Fall Convocation, here’s what you missed. And, here is the PPT Presentation. Reminder to check out the UH System Strategic Imperatives and UH West Oʻahu Strategic Action Plan.

Please scroll through this Kepakemapa Ka Peʻahi Lono from the Highlights through to the Hoʻomanaʻo Mai sections. Donʻt miss the Hana Lawelawe section as we highlight our Noʻeau Center. Please scroll down to the the Hoʻomanaʻo Mai section for important messages – to support our students – and messages from the UH System where you’ll find the invitation to a virtual screening of “Holding Moses”.

Wishing you all a dynamic and fun beginning to the Fall 2024 Semester!

E ʻeleu mai ʻoukou! Step lively, let’s move together!

E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor

Health and Well-Being Reminder

Keep in mind, kūkulu kaiāulu! Please strengthen our community with your passions, respect for one another, and patience! Please respect an individual’s personal choice to wear a face mask. Mahalo to everyone for your patience and empathy, your good work, and commitment to care for one another!

Although we are no longer in a public health emergency in regard to the COVID-19 virus, please stay vigilant. Health officials are keeping watch on the latest variants and any rise in cases and their potential for causing serious illness.

If you test positive for COVID-19:

Isolate for 5 days.
After 5 days, you may return to work or classes if you have been fever-free for 24 hours.
Wear a mask for an additional 5 days around others.

You can notify your instructor or supervisor that you tested positive for COVID-19 or that you have been exposed, but it is not required. You should let them know if you will be out sick as you would for any other illness that would cause you to miss class or work time. Masking is optional on campus and in offices, except where required, for example, in certain healthcare-related clinical situations. Again, please respect an individual’s personal choice to wear a face mask.

Important Highlights

Here are our August highlights you might have missed:

WE NEED YOUR KŌKUA!

We are excited to invite you to volunteer at the West O’ahu Student Career Expo 2024 on Oct. 24 and/or Oct. 25 (volunteer for one or both days.) This event is a fantastic opportunity to support over 2,000 ninth graders from West O’ahu schools as they explore UH West Oʻahu programs along with potential career paths and essential skills for their future employment.

Dates: Thursday, Oct. 24, and Friday, Oct. 25
The following schools are participating on Thurs. Oct. 24: Waiʻanae H.S., Kamaile Academy, Kapolei Charter School, Dreamhouse Charter School and Island Pacific Academy
The following schools are participating on Fri. Oct 25: Kapolei H.S. and James Campbell H.S.
Time: 7:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: Great Lawn
Volunteer Roles:

Helping with Check-in
Assisting students with off-loading and onboarding buses
Monitoring student safety and flow through event spaces

How to Register:
Please register by Sept. 15 to volunteer for one or both days.

Hana Lawelawe

Featuring our No’eau Center

At fall convocation, I ended my comments with our UH West Oʻahu pahuhopu – the principles that guide the work we do. This month, we highlight the important and brilliant work of our Noʻeau Center! The faculty and staff of the Noʻeau Center live into hana lawelawe in many ways. I will mention just three. First, they welcome all learners providing each with the tools and on-going support they need to be successful in their coursework that leads to degree completion AND to amazing professional careers. Second, when a learner enters the center staggering, overwhelmed, flummoxed, the Noʻeau faculty and staff greet them with compassion. Listening and providing gentle and reasoned guidance, the tutors can steer the learners through the muck and mire, help them to apply new concepts and processes to their life experiences, and in the end, a learner learns how capable they truly are. And, finally, the Noʻeau Center is a space skillfully managed to ensure every individual is respected for the gifts they bring to the learning process. Mahalo nūnui to our faculty and staff at the Noʻeau Center!

A group shot of Noeau Center tutors and staff.

Here is an update on Noʻeau Center Services:

The No‘eau Center offers services to help students improve their overall academic performance. For more information, please reach out!

Location: B203
Virtual Front Desk: bit.ly/noeaucenter
Website: https://westoahu.hawaii.edu/noeaucenter/
Phone: 808-689-2750
Email: uhwowc@hawaii.edu

Tutoring. Free peer tutoring is available on-campus and through Zoom for writing, math, statistics, accounting, science, and more, and via email for writing. Tutoring can benefit students at all levels to strengthen their skills as they progress through their courses. Click here to read more.

Share our services with your class! Connecting with campus resources helps students succeed. Consider requesting a 5-10 minute Zoom or in-person class visit to ensure students are aware of Noʻeau services. Submit a request for a class visit. For asynchronous classes, this video can be shared with students to provide an overview of No’eau Center services. The video is followed by an 8-question quiz if you’d like students to show proof of completion.

Supplement course content with in-class and online streaming workshops. Accessible, asynchronous workshops are available online 24/7. Designed to support student skill building in a variety of areas, workshops are linked to Google Forms quizzes that prompt students to practice and reflect on strategies covered. Quizzes can also be used to show proof of completion. Workshop titles include:

College and the Writing Process
Helpful Tips for Asynchronous Courses
Math Note Taking Tips
Working with APA Style

Click here to learn more. Workshops can also be presented in class (via Zoom or in-person). Instructors can submit a request here.

Test proctoring. Test proctoring is available for accommodations, make-up exams, and more! For more information, visit our website, email uhwotest@hawaii.edu, or call 808-689-2752. For more information on accommodations, visit Disability Services.

Note: The Noʻeau Center is hosting a two-day Open House on Sept. 3 and 4. Be sure to check it out!

Hoʻomanaʻo Mai

Students First

Supporting student success while adhering to Federal regulations, 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 student’s federal financial aid.

For step-by-step instructions on how to certify through the Instructor Support App, please visit Participation Verification for Faculty. Also, check out this short video.

DUE: Part of Term I (Aug. 26 to Dec. 13) verification and certifications must be submitted between Sept. 4 and Sept. 9. For all other Part of Term courses, the deadlines are displayed above each of your class rosters in the Instructor Support App.

Reminder: E Ala Pono Progress Updates 1 and 2 Information

Through the E Ala Pono Academic Progress Campaign, faculty are able to partner with our campus resources (Advising, Counseling, and the Noʻeau Center) to support the success of our students.
In the E Ala Pono cycle, faculty observe and interact with students and when behaviors or concerns arise (in the 3rd and 7th week), the faculty may complete the progress update, which notifies both the student and the academic support area of concerns.

A representative (advisor, mentor, or counselor, etc.) will reach out to connect with the student to create a success plan.

Progress Update 1: Sept. 10 – 16 (closes at 11:55 p.m.)
Progress Update 2: Oct. 14 – 23 (closes at 11:55 p.m.)

If anyone has any questions, please email the E Ala Pono Team at uhwoeap@hawaii.edu.

President Lassner’s Welcome to the Fall 2024 Semester

For those who may have missed it, here is President David Lassner’s message and here is the final paragraph of his message:

I feel especially honored and privileged to have led our ten UH campuses for these past eleven years. I am incredibly proud of the work of our remarkable faculty and staff to provide nurturing environments that support student learning, inquiry and your development as Hawaiʻi’s future citizens and leader. But it is our students, who have made my lifelong career in higher education so rewarding. Your passion, perseverance and success have been the driving force behind our collective achievements.

From our Friends at JABSOM

JABSOM will be hosting a virtual screening of “Holding Moses” — which was shortlisted for the 2023 Oscars — that chronicles the heartfelt story of a queer mother and Broadway performer who learns how to parent her son, who has a profound disability.

Described as “an intimate story of parenting and disability” (The New Yorker), “powerful” (Hollywood Reporter), “incredibly raw and beautiful” (Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation), and a “remarkably candid journey with stunning visuals” (Deadline), “HOLDING MOSES” is a 17-minute documentary which folds together several areas in the DEI space including assumptions about caregivers, shame narratives around disability, and LGBTQ parents.

This event includes a screening of the film, followed by a Q&A with both directors. Rivkah Beth Medow and Jen Rainin. A flyer is attached. Please feel free to encourage those who might be interested.

From the Office of the Vice President for Academic Programs and Policy

FERPA Notice and Data Privacy and Security Best Practices

Dear UH Faculty, Staff, and Administrators:

Welcome to the start of the new academic year! The University of Hawaiʻi 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.

What is FERPA?
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:
1. Inspect and review their education records;
2. Have some control over the disclosure of information from their education records;
3. Seek to amend incorrect education records;
4. File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Family Policy Compliance Office.

Learn more about how FERPA at:
datagov.intranet.hawaii.edu/ferpa/
datagov.intranet.hawaii.edu/ferpa-guidance-for-online-lectures-and-recordings/

Graduate Assistants’ and Student Employees’ Business Contact Information
Graduate assistants’ and student employees’ employment information, including their business contact information, are education records protected under FERPA. Graduate assistants are given the option to publish their business contact information in the UH Faculty/Staff Directory upon hiring and through the semesterly FERPA notice to students. In selected cases where student employees need to disclose their business contact information (e.g., for tutoring services), supervisors need to obtain prior written consent and maintain that consent on file. Form 7, Consent to Disclose Education Records to Third Party from UH Administrative Policy AP7.022 may be used. For further guidance, you or your supervisor may contact the Data Governance Office at datagov@hawaii.edu.

Data Privacy and Security Best Practices
Protect your UH username! Reduce the risk of your UH username from being compromised with the following best practices.

Use a unique password for each of your online accounts. When using your UH email and password on a third-party site, your UH login information is at risk. If the third-party site has a data breach, your UH username and password will be compromised. For example, many UH student accounts were exposed through a massive data breach within the education technology company Chegg in 2018. If you require your students to use a third-party application for class assignments, please advise them to create a unique password when signing up for the service.

Never re-use passwords that have been exposed. Once your login information has been exposed, hackers continue to have access to it.

Remain alert for phishing scams.
https://www.hawaii.edu/infosec/phishing/

Follow Cyber Hygiene Best Practices:
https://www.hawaii.edu/infosec/minimum-standards/cyber-hygiene/

Instructional Third-Party Online Tools
For faculty planning to use online tools in the classroom, check the ITS list of Instructional Third-Party Online Tools or Microservices (Widgets) for Faculty for ITS’s review of the software. If the software you are interested in is not listed, submit your tool for review.

Remind students to request deletion of their account and materials when the software product is no longer being used (e.g., when the class is over).

Note the ITS list of Third-Party Online Tools does not apply to units planning to use the tools for administrative purposes. For administrative use, refer to the Decision Tree for Institutional Data.

Instructional Tools with AI Features
Faculty and staff who use generative Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) software tools should be aware that any data inputted may be retained and may be potentially accessible by those models. Unless explicitly stated in the vendor’s terms of service and privacy policies, assume that any data you input becomes public information and could be retained forever. Do not input personally identifiable information (“PII”) and refrain from assigning classwork that requires students to submit PII (about themselves or others) or share data that are copyrighted, confidential, or proprietary.

Refer to the AI Decision Tree for more information.

Questions?
Email the UH Data Governance Office at datagov@hawaii.edu.