Averett CoffeeBreak 12-12-18

Posted on December 12th, 2018 by Danielle Staub

CoffeeBreak is an e-newsletter distributed to Averett faculty and staff to keep them up-to-date on campus activities and information. Please send information you would like included in CoffeeBreak via this formPlease submit by Friday, Dec. 14, for a Wednesday, Dec. 19, publication.

Vote for the Averett Christmas Tree

Please visit the Institute for Advanced Learning and vote for the Averett Tree! Viewing runs Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Thursday, Dec. 20. On Dec. 14, 17 and 19, IALR will be open until 7 p.m.

Millennium Advisors Appointments

The Millennium advisors will return to campus after the holiday break. The 1:1 appointment scheduler continues to be available for any Averett employee (full or part time, non-student worker) to set an appointment with a Millennium Financial Advisor. These individual meetings offer an opportunity  to review the upcoming changes in the University retirement plan and to discuss the new options available in the Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) for 2019.

The Millennium Newsletter is available by clicking here. Call or email Kathie Tune, director of Human Resources, with questions at (434) 791.7106 or [email protected].

Remember: Holiday Payroll Schedule

Christmas and New Year Schedule: Pay period Sunday, Dec. 16, to Saturday, Dec. 29, with the pay date of Friday, Jan. 4, will be processed on Monday, Dec. 31. If you have any part-time or students that will be working during this time please make sure we have ALL the timesheets and leadsheets by 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 31. Most of the part-time and student employees work limited hours during the break so hopefully this will be minimal.

If you have the timesheets earlier than Monday, Dec. 31, please feel free to submit them early. If you do not have any part-time or students working during that time please let us know so that your department will be marked off the submission list.

If you have any questions please feel free to give Pam Paynter a call at (434) 791-5613. We will work together to make sure that everyone is paid on time and accurately.

Thank You for your Generosity!

The employees on Averett Central hall donated money and the group was able to provide five bikes for a few Danville children at Christmas. Many thanks to all who donated and supported this local event.

 

 

 

 

 

2019 Wellness Incentive and New Wellness Portal

If you signed up for the 2019 wellness credit and have not gone to your doctor or Lab corp, you must go before the end of the year and have submitted. Refer to your emails for forms and fax numbers.

Stay tuned for more information and a brand new face to help with the 2019 wellness program. We are partnering with a new company 2iWellness to bring more programs with options to personalize your own journey. Watch for more information in Coffee Break and your email.

To print or not to print…

If you were not already aware, everything is getting more expensive. Printing is no exception. Last year, Averett spent close to $70,000 on printing/copying. On average, it costs Averett $0.0135 for black and white prints and $0.075 for color prints. This does not include jobs sent out for special print. In my mind, I would rather spend $70k on computers, monitors, faster networking equipment, etc.

Here are some fun ways to cut down on all that printing… Well, not fun, but it may actually save money…

Printing Duplex
Both sides of the paper. If your printer has the capability, and most of the big copy/print/scanner machines do, you can tell the printer to print on both sides of the paper. The printer can also be set to default to print duplex. This, by itself, has the potential to save a great deal of paper.

Color vs. Black and White printing
Since most print jobs are black and white, make sure your print settings are defaulting to black and white instead of color. Even if you are printing a black and white document but your printer settings are set to color, the print job is charged at the “color” rate, which is significantly higher than a “plain” black and white document. Instead of a black and white print job with 20 pages costing $.30 it costs $1.60. That may not sound like a lot, but over three months some of the higher output printers can get as high as ten thousand pages which means a difference between $150 and $800 for one printer. That adds up.

Digital copies versus hard copies
If the print/copy is just for personal record keeping, consider saving a digital copy instead. Having a hard copy can be “easier” but it will save in printing costs when the hard copy document is inevitably lost and needs a reprint. Digital versions stored in our file server system are backed up daily on our new cloud based backup system and can be retrieved if deleted.

“Cheaper” Fonts
There are actually fonts that are cheaper to print than others are (I did not know that either.) The “top saving” fonts are “Century Gothic” and “Garamond,” which are standard fonts. The top three to avoid are “Arial,” “Trebuchet” and “Tahoma.” If you can reduce the font to a comfortable size before printing means you can fit more on a page, saving toner, ink and paper.

Use Print Preview and Shrink to Fit
Instead of printing to see “what it looks like” employ the “print preview.” Also, use the “Shrink to Fit” option to squeeze in as much as possible on the page.

Smart Page Layout
If the printed document has numerous pages, but only a few pages are needed, in the print dialog box try to use the “Pages from to” function. Just leaving out blank and graphic heavy pages saves on toner, ink and paper.

Digital Signatures
If the document requires a signature, for example an expense report, instead of printing it to sign it, create a digital image of your signature. On the signature line just insert a “picture” of your signature. It may take some resizing to make it work. If you do not have a digital image of your signature, or are unsure how to create one, make an appointment to visit IT and we can capture a digital copy of your signature.

Archival Print
If the print is strictly for archival purposes, it does not need to be pristine. Set the job up to print duplex, make the font as small as possible, and print multiple pages to each sheet. Additionally, check to see if a digital instead of a hard copy can be kept.

Letterhead
If your department needs to print large amounts on letterhead consider having the letterhead produced by a third party bulk print shop. This is also wise if printing large jobs heavy on graphics.

If you are interested in a “how to” document, please let IT know and we will get you the documentation. Direct any question to Kevin Lipscomb at [email protected].

April Love-Loveless Joins the CCECC

The CCECC is pleased to announce that April Love-Loveless has been hired as the Coordinator of Community Engagement, Study Abroad, and Bonner in November of 2018. Previously, April served Averett as the AmeriCorps VISTA for the National Bonner Leaders Program. Her new position encompasses a wide variety of duties. She serves as the liaison to Danville Community College and Piedmont Community College; she partners with students and community agencies to train National Bonner Leaders and facilitates professional development opportunities for students in the National Bonner Leader program.

Additionally, as coordinator of community engagement, she assists in coordinating engagement opportunities for students and community members of  the Dan River Region. April received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Lynchburg College and is currently pursuing a Master of Educational Studies degree from the University of Lynchburg.

Tia Yancey Promoted to Director of Community Engagement

The CCECC is happy to announce that Tia Yancey has been named Director of Community Engagement. As a Danville City native, Tia completed her education with Danville Community College in business management and marketing, graduated from Averett University with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Leadership Studies, and she is currently working on her Masters of Nonprofit Leadership Studies at the University of Lynchburg.

After serving many roles at the CCECC, her role as director of community engagement will allow her to create, build and sustain partnerships for Averett University, Danville Community College and Piedmont Community College. Always with a smile, Tia supports our community partners to develop, improve, and introduce opportunities within the community that will strengthen the social and economic vitality of our region.

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GPS Student Spotlight

Meet Cole Green, a student pursuing his Master of Business Administration who is expected to graduate in 2020. To read about Cole on the GPS blog, click here.

Why did you choose Averett University’s GPS program?  

“I really wanted to go back to school for an MBA. My life all changed based on wanting to move and start over if you will. When I ended up in Danville I stumbled upon Averett. Once I spoke to admissions and learned more about the program I knew it was right for me. The schedule works great so far for a full-time working professional. Whether in person or on line, the classes offered are relevant in today’s workforce.”