The date for pay warrant release is March 30th for the March 2007 pay period, however the campus will be closed that day in observance of Cesar Chavez Day. University Cash Services, located in Bayramian Hall Room 100R will be open for two hours on Friday, March 30, 2007 from 9am -11am. Employees must bring photo I.D. to pick up their pay warrants.  If you will be will be picking up your warrant on Friday, March 30th, please inform your department so they know it is not a missing pay warrant on Monday April 2nd when the regular distribution continues.

We are happy to announce the availability of new online training programs on performance management.

The training videos are accessible from the Office of Human Resources home page under the heading “Managers Resource Toolkit.”

The first video is about 23 minutes and is targeted to all supervisors who evaluate performance at the university.  The second video is only 3 minutes and it provides guidance on how to use the new MPP evaluation form.

The programs run on Quick Time media player software that is already installed on many university computers.

If QuickTime is not loaded on your machine you can load a free copy of the software from quicktime.com if you have rights to add software to your computer.  If not, you will need to seek support from your local IT support staff.

The annual Recognition and Award Event for service and excellence will be held on June 5th. This event recognizes employee's years service. Invitations to eligible staff members will be sent electronically in March. At this event, the winners of the Presidential Award, the Awards of Merit, and the Team Excellence Awards will also be announced.

Nominations for these awards are currently being accepted and are encouraged. All staff and administrator’s are eligible, including auxiliary employees. Nomination forms are available on the HR website at http://www-admn.csun.edu/hrs/comp/awards/index.htm and must be submitted by May 9, 2007.

A team of staff and administrators will evaluate nominations and select the winners. Please consider nominating a person in your area who has a distinguished record of exemplary performance in support of the university and our students.

The 2007 Professional Development schedule of classes has been posted to the HR website.   Effective Team Member Profile, Achieving Peak Performance, and Problem Solved! are three new classes offered this year.  Staff can attend individual classes or a series of courses to complete one of the four certificate programs available.  Wellness and a personal financial series of classes are also available.  Don’t wait to enroll because classes are offered once during the year and space is limited.  Go to http://www-admn.csun.edu/hrs/training/courses/index.htm to view the schedule of classes and enroll online.

The CSUEU contract has been ratified and approved by the board. On  February 21, 2007, system wide guidance was provided on how to apply the various terms  and conditions of the agreement relating to the establishment of anniversary dates, eligibility and payment of SSI one time bonuses. During the next few weeks Human Resources will complete the establishment of anniversary dates and processing of all retroactive service salary increases. Retroactive one-time SSI bonuses will be processed no later than April 16th. Training for MPP employees on the new contract provisions will be conducted on March 22nd and 27th.

New Vision Plan

On January 1, 2007, Vision Service Plan (VSP) became our new vision plan carrier.

1. Choose a VSP doctor at http://vsp.com/ or call 800-877-7195
2. Make an appointment and tell the doctor you are a VSP member.
3. That's it! No ID cards

You can obtain additional information regarding VSP and the new vision benefits plan design by going to the following link: http://www.calstate.edu/hr/benefitsportal/

Long-Term Care Program coming soon

The CalPERS Long-Term Care Program offers a comprehensive selection of long-term care benefits. Visit the CalPERS website and view descriptions of the 2006 plans. 2007 plan options and rates will be available soon. You can also use the oline monthly rates calculator to see what your monthly premiums will be for your plan choice.

If you have not received your W-2, please verify your address online with Human Resources by accessing the “My Personal Information” link inside the portal under the “Faculty & Staff Services” menu item.

If you moved but did not update your address online in SOLAR, the W-2 was sent to the last address on file.

If you filed a forwarding notice with the United States Post Office, your W-2 should be forwarded to your new address.

If you did not file a forwarding notice, the W-2 may be returned to the CSUN Office of Human Resources at some point in time.

If you did not receive your W-2, please inform your departmental HR representative and they will contact Human Resources to identify if it has been returned to CSUN. In the event the W-2 is lost, or if you need a W-2 from prior years, please fill out the Duplicate Wage and Tax Statement Form located online at http://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/osp/pdf/std436.pdf .

Please note there is a fee payable to the State Controller’s Office by moneyorder or payroll deduction of $8.50 per W-2 replacement.

The software upgrade project for Student Administration and Human Resources is going well. As a result of this mandatory project, we will move to the current generation of software and we will be adding new functionality. In addition, several processes currently in place will be improved.

The project is in two major phases. The first phase will end in late June. During this phase the software upgrade will be accomplished, some new functionality will be added (e.g., Absence Management and core elements of Benefits Administration), and some processes will be improved. These are primarily in the Student Financial Aid area and Student Financials. Of special note are improvements in the demand payment system for student tuition and fees.

Phase two of the project will extend from July through the remainder of the year. During this period an online recruitment and referral system will be implemented, additional elements will be added to the employee self service option, and several business processes will be improved, especially in the areas of SOLAR, Academic Affairs, and Student Administration.

Users of the system will be involved in the change process over the next several months. The pace of this involvement will pick up through the summer after the conversion to the upgraded software is completed.

Throughout the project we are attempting to improve services to the customer. If you have any input on the process at any time, please contact Brenda St. Cyr, Project Manager, extension 2978; or Bob Foldesi, Project Sponsor, extension 2118.

Your feedback is always welcome. Please send any questions or comments about this communication to marianne.hudz@csun.edu.