At times it was funny, other times serious, but throughout this fall's "Conversations with the President" event, Statewide staff were treated to valuable insight into the major issues affecting the University of Alaska.� STORY and PHOTOS

Getting a flu shot (or another age-appropriate adult immunization) will earn you a credit towards next year's wellness rebate! For more information, see September's article on qualifying for the FY15 REBATE.

UAF Student Health and Counseling will be offering flu shots at the following times and locations:

• Tuesday, October 28 at Wood Center, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 29 in the IARC Lobby, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Thursday, October 30 in Butrovich 204, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The UAF shots are provided at no cost to employees and spouses, please no children under 18.

UAA Student Health and Counseling will be offering shots at these times and locations:

• Tuesday, October 28 in RH 120 from 9 a.m. to noon
• Thursday, October 30 in ULB 104 from 2 to 4 p.m.
• Friday, October 31 in UC 144 from 9 a.m. to noon

The UAA shots are provided for $20 but the health center will bill Premera insurance for you. Please bring your Premera ID card with you to the flu shot event.

If you are not on campus at these times, please be sure to contact your health care provider or pharmacy for information on flu shots.

Remember that all three plan options for the UA Choice health care plan cover routine preventive care and immunizations at 100 percent of allowable charge with no deductible.

For more information on preventive services covered at 100 percent of allowable charges, please visit
http://www.alaska.edu/benefits/health-plan/preventive-benefit/

What are Foot Traction Devices and how do they prevent injuries?

Foot Traction Devices slip-on over boots or shoes for traction on icy surfaces. Many winter slip-and-fall injuries have been prevented and hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical costs have been avoided due to using Foot Traction Devices.

Last year we had extremely icy conditions for a portion of our winter that resulted in slips and falls, so get your pair early. Employee injuries related to slips and falls during icy conditions can be severe and cause extreme pain and discomfort to valuable employees in addition to many lost work days. Injured employees often knew about the free Foot Traction Device program (“Spikies,” “Get-a-grips,” “Yak Tracks” and/or “Spare Spikes”), but failed to either wear the devices, failed to pick them up, or were wearing them with the spikes pointing into their shoes or boots instead of towards the ground.�

Free Foot Traction Devices are available in all sizes (small to XXL) for all Statewide regular, temporary, part-time and student employees. Stop by Suite 001 Butrovich Building to get your pair. If you are located at another University of Alaska campus, free Foot Traction Devices are available from the Risk Services Department at your location.�

ADDITIONAL SLIP AND FALL PREVENTION STEPS:�

1. During icy conditions, slow down and plan more time for travel.

2. Most slips occur when you are in hurry and getting out of your vehicle or upon leaving a building when your feet are warm and a water layer forms under your feet. When getting out of your vehicle, place both feet on the ground before standing or stand outside the building entrance when leaving a building for about 10 seconds to allow your shoes to cool down before walking.

3. Most vehicles are equipped with handholds, which can be used to assist with exiting your vehicle.

4.� Be sure to remove your Foot Traction Devices before walking on hard surfaces in buildings as metal spikes on hard, dry surfaces can be slippery.

5. Pay attention to where you walk and avoid slippery areas whenever possible. Do not take short cuts through unmaintained areas even though others may be doing it.

6. Slippery conditions are most prevalent near dawn and dusk because of re-freezing and sand sinking below the new ice layer so be extra vigilant during those times.

Wear your Foot Traction Devices during icy conditions to prevent serious injury to yourself and to help keep medical costs down.

In June, the 23 Issue and Effect statements that comprise the stated outcomes of the Shaping Alaska’s Future initiative were adopted by the UA Board of Regents as official policy. Now comes the hard part: making the changes necessary to drive those outcomes.

Do not wait any longer for someone to tell you what to do to begin Shaping Alaska’s Future. Begin with yourself and the work you do every day.� MORE....

The University of Alaska is celebrating UA College Application Week Nov. 17-21 by giving away six, three-credit tuition awards good for any of UA’s 16 campuses.

The incentive is aimed at high school seniors who intend to apply to UA for summer or fall 2015. UA must receive applications by the end of College Application Week, Nov. 21, for future students to qualify for the drawing. Each three-credit award is worth up to $630.

“College is a game changer, leading to better careers and higher paying jobs. Alaska data shows that 63 percent of Alaska jobs will require a postsecondary education by 2018,” said Saichi Oba, associate vice president for student and enrollment services at the UA System. “Applying early is not only a good first step, but it actually increases a student’s chance of success in college.”

High school seniors are encouraged to apply through https://uaonline.alaska.edu.

Oba stresses that the Alaska Performance Scholarship and UA Scholars awards are also important for student success–both can help a lot to pay costs of college, paving the way to college degrees.

For more information on UA College Application Week, see http://www.alaska.edu/studentservices/college-application-week/ or phone 907-450-8140.

UA Statewide employees had a discussion earlier this year with their supervisors about performance factors and objectives as part of the required annual performance appraisal. See UA Performance Appraisal Form for a list of performance factors and descriptions. �

Supervisors and employees were encouraged during the rollout and the training on the performance appraisal form to have regular and ongoing discussions about performance factors and objectives. We understand that everyone gets busy and sometimes those discussions just don’t occur. ���

If you haven’t had a chance to meet with your supervisor and discuss objectives and performance factors, this is a good time to conduct a self-check on your own efforts and successes. MORE...

Statewide staff invited to budget forum
During “Coffee with the President” on Oct 16, President Gamble touched on the possibility of another budget cut from the legislature again this year. University leadership project as much as a $1.2 million cut just to statewide's budget. UA Board of Regents is set to meet on Nov 5 and 6 to approve the FY16 budget. The week following the BOR meeting SAA will host a forum to discuss how the FY16 budget will affect statewide employees.

While SAA will present some cost cutting ideas being considered by leadership, the goal is to work with staff to formulate ideas to present to administration to get us through this difficult time. More information will be forthcoming on the final date, time and location of the forum.