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 form. For the next CoffeeBreak, please submit by Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, for a Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, publication.
Save the Date: Founders’ Day, January 30
Save the date for Averett’s annual Founders’ Day event on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 11:15 a.m. in Pritchett Auditorium. Hear from alumni speakers and a student representative, then join us in the Cougar Den for an official birthday party celebrating the university’s 166th birthday.
Sign Up for LiveSafe
As the new semester begins, don’t forget to download LiveSafe, Averett’s mobile notification and reporting system. In order to receive broadcast university text messages, you will need to download the LiveSafe app to your mobile device. Click here for instructions on how to download the LiveSafe app.
How to Locate and Download Your W2s
W2s will be posted to Paylocity as soon as they make them available to the system. To download, simply open the Paylocity app, go to the Pay tab and click on Tax Forms (top right). The 2024 radio button will be on that page…click the year you wish to email to yourself. The mail icon is on the bottom right of screen. You have to assign a password in order for the pdf to be emailed. The system will confirm that the email was sent.
HR reminders to Hiring Managers
Please make sure to have all new employee paperwork for students and non-students completed as soon as possible in order to allow plenty of time for processing. As well, send us a list of students who are no longer working in your departments. We pay for names on a payroll roster whether or not they have hours worked. Paylocity charges by the active employee list. We are fine tuning that roster and need your input to do so. For non-student employees, make sure you create an Offboarding form for them to initiate that process. Thank you.
Questions? Please contact Pam Paynter [email protected] or Kathie Tune [email protected]
Tuition Remission and Tuition Exchange Opportunities
Averett University recognizes the importance of personal and educational development and encourages employees to pursue further education. To support employees in meeting their personal and professional goals, the university provides a tuition remission benefit to all full-time, permanent employees. Averett University also extends this opportunity to the dependents, including spouses, of eligible employees. Tuition Remission forms are available on the AU Intranet via the SharePoint drive. Please open the tab for your respective division. If you need access to the intranet, contact Katy Anderson at [email protected]
If you are considering enrollment in a college/university on the Tuition Exchange, please contact Kathie Tune, CHRO, at [email protected]. The exchange sites are www.cic.edu and www.tuitionexchange.org These programs are open to benefits eligible employees.
The Anthem EAP
For members enrolled in the Averett University medical plan.
Anthem’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides quick and easy access to work/life support, confidential counseling and referral services to help you deal with daily work and life challenges. It’s employer-sponsored, so it’s available at no cost to you, your dependents or household members.
Our EAP program addresses a variety of issues, including:
Resources to support work/life balance, legal concerns, financial issues, child and elder care needs, dealing with critical events and your emotional well-being.
Refer to the EAP Summary flyer for access to the Anthem EAP website. This EAP is in addition to TELUS Health which is available to all benefits eligible employees. If you are an employee and need to contact our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), TELUS Health, please visit their website at one.telushealth.com Counselors are available 24/7 by dialing 1.888.319.7819.
On Display from the Averett Archives
Would you like to play a game?
For at least 25 years, and possibly much longer, Averett students took part in a shockingly difficult scavenger hunt involving an old shepherd’s crook. Near the start of the academic year, the seniors would hide it somewhere on campus, challenging the juniors to find it before “Class Day” at the end of the spring semester. By the late 1940s, after significant changes in the size and makeup of the student body, the game was abandoned.
In honor of this long defunct tradition, the archivist has assembled both a physical display and an online exhibit on The Crook. Click the link below to read all about it. All staff and students are welcome to visit Blount Library during operating hours in the month of January to view the physical display.
Staff and students are also invited to play a variant of the game. Hidden somewhere in Blount Library is a foot-long paper Crook. Next time you’re in the building, enjoy a Crook hunt.
To visit our blog, please click HERE.
Important Links
Driver Certification Form – Driver Certification Information
Drug and Alcohol Policy or Drug-Free Workplace Policy – 855-Employee-Drug-and-Alcohol-Policy-2024 (2)
Service-Learning Intent Form – Fall 2024 Service-Learning Intent Form (office.com)
Tuition Remission Form – Click HERE
Tuition Exchange Websites – tuitionexchange.org & cic.edu
Part-time Employment Form – Part-time-Employment-Form-2024.docx (live.com)
To Schedule A Virtual Meeting with A Retirement and Financial Planning Advisor – Select a Date & Time – Calendly
Wellness Portal – www.healthadvocate.com/AverettUniversity
Averett Employee Assistance Plan (Telus Health One)
Averett Fringe Benefits Fact Sheet – 2024-Fringe-Benefits-Fact-Sheet-1.pdf (averett.edu)
Virginia Private Colleges Benefit’s Consortium, Inc. (VPCBC) – https://www.vpcbc.org
Empyrean Website – Virginia Private Colleges Benefits Consortium
Reach out to an EAP counselor, which is available to all benefits-eligible employees and their eligible household members (details below).
-
- To set an appointment with a licensed EAP counselor, call 1-888-319-7819 and select “Employee Assistance Program” when prompted to be connected to a counselor. There is no cost to the employee for the first three phone or video consultation sessions.
- For the online chat option, visit one.telushealth.com, user name: metlifeeap and password: eap. There is a chat feature that allows users to talk directly with a consultant to guide you to the information you are looking for or help you schedule an appointment with a counselor.
- Employees on the Averett health plan can go to “Find Care” on their Sydney App or Anthem dashboard and locate counseling services that would be available to us through our CICV plan. Go to Anthem.com and locate Find Care or go to https://www.sydneyhealth.com/.
The Sydney App by Anthem
The Sydney℠ Health mobile app gives you 24/7 access to your benefits, claims information and ID cards. Plus, you can use it to find doctors, set up virtual care visits, track your health and receive important information about your plan. It’s a simple download on your phone that offers any health plan participant all the information you need to answer your health plan questions or locate your personal dashboard.
Questions? Contact Pam Paynter, Benefits Coordinator at [email protected]; or Kathie Tune, CHRO, at [email protected]. To download the app, please click HERE.
Happy Wednesday and welcome back. I hope everyone had a very relaxing and stress-free holiday break. Our wellness portal powered by Health Advocate will be back online this week, Thursday, Jan.16. So, get ready for another fun year of extending our wellness journey together. In need of a free webinar to start the new year off with wellness? We got you covered. This webinar is free, and will cover the topics of depression, anxiety and burnout. All of which, I think, are huge topics to cover to ensure a successful year moving forward. So, with that being said please enjoy this webinar at your convenience. They have a 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. time slot on Thursday. Welcome back again and reach out if you have any questions.
-The Wellness Guy