go the extra mile – (idiom):

1. to try harder to please someone or to get the task done correctly
2. to make more effort than is expected of you

Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an army of staff members to guide a student through the labyrinth of higher education. Whether it is going the extra mile to ensure students are able to log into their online class, to being an advocate for student success, staff members are a vital part of higher education.

Do you know a staff member that deserves recognition for going that extra mile?

The Staff Make Students Count Award, established in the spring of 1999, recognizes university staff that have provided outstanding service to students anywhere in the UA system, including campuses and extended sites. Nominations are open for submission through February 20. Please visit the Staff Make Students Count website, www.alaska.edu/governance/staff-alliance/staff-make-students-count/ for more information.

The new digital displays in the Butrovich Building are a modernization of "bulletin boards" and part of an overall digital signage strategy for the campus. OIT has worked with the UAF campus to develop a cohesive strategy for digital signage, reducing the number of disparate systems and improving the overall communications plan.

The goal is to incorporate SW and Campus information into the displays, hopefully replacing the myriad of flyers that are distributed and taped here and there.

The signage system will also be configured to display emergency alerts, way-finding, weather, news, room schedules, as well as events, speakers, symposia and such happenings on campus.

Thank you to SW Public Affairs for the current images displaying---these are place holders.

The entire campus system is run off a central server and departments run their own content, can submit content for sharing and can accept/decline content shared by others. We will have the same ability. This is part of the same system you see in Wood Center.

Keep an eye out for more as we finish implementing the system in Butrovich.

If you have any questions contact Karl Kowalski� 907-450-8383, kekowalski@alaska.edu

Attend the “65 by 2025 - Alaska Can!” Alaska Postsecondary Access & Completion Network Conference March 17– March 18, 2015 at the Downtown Marriott in Anchorage.

(link) http://events.SignUp4.com/APAN15

The 2015 Postsecondary Access and Success Conference is a time for Alaskans from all walks – education, business, public service – to unite and work together on increasing the number of Alaskans enrolling and succeeding in postsecondary education. Postsecondary education includes apprenticeships, industry-recognized licensure, workforce credentials, certificates and degrees.

Take aways:

• A common understanding and sense of urgency concerning Alaska’s serious postsecondary access & completion challenge, and related workforce implications
• Knowledge about the Network, including how you can be part of the 65 by 2025 goal
• Bridging of cross-sector gaps through active discussions
• Deeper and shared knowledge of Alaska initiatives, service coverages and gaps, and existing best practices

In mid-February, UAOnline will transition exclusively to the UA username/UA password login option. The UA ID/PIN login option will be retired. The goal is to make UAOnline access simpler for students and employees, and to facilitate using one set of credentials for all University of Alaska systems. Please contact your campus IT help desk for further information.

In response to President Gamble’s memo to Governor Walker, SAA invited Carla Beam and Chris Christensen to provide a budget and legislative update at the Jan. 14 meeting. The University of Alaska had prepared a smaller budget, and the Governor has requested even further reductions.

Beam discussed how the university and State are working together to develop a budget that combines gradual budget reductions and utilization of savings to minimize the imact of the deep cuts and avoid what the university experienced in the 1990’s. Christensen explained the current budget climate in Juneau with the state facing much larger budget deficit than projected. It is our job to remind our neighbors and friends of the research and good work that the University of Alaska offers to the state, and to maintain confidence in the institution.

You're Invited to SAA's Budget Forum Feb. 4, 2014
To provide more information on the budget, SAA is hosting a follow-up forum to our November cost savings initiative forum. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. We will have video conferencing between Butro 109 and Bragaw 205. SAA welcomes employees to come armed with cost saving suggestions. Sometimes the best ideas come for the ones in the trenches.

The UA Confidential Hotline was implemented in early FY15. The hotline is a system-wide mechanism for receiving tips on risks and issues that could jeopardize the University of Alaska’s financial health, safety or reputation. It is available for anyone to use via toll-free telephone and web intake. �

Please help spread the news at your location about the hotline to ensure the information is available to those who may need it now or in the future.� MORE...

UA employees may now view and print an online version of their 2014 W-2 in UAOnline. The online form can be printed and submitted to the IRS.

For detailed information, please refer to the following URL:
http://www.alaska.edu/hr/hr-procedures/employee-procedures/tax-forms/w2online.xml

http://www.alaska.edu/hr/hr-procedures/employee-procedures/tax-forms/

A printed 2014 W-2 form will also be mailed (postmarked) to employees by Jan. 31, 2015.� Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery via the U.S. Postal Service.

The UA Foundation encourages you to Pick.Click.Give. in support of UA. Last year, as a system, we raised over $70,000 and received $29,000 in matching from ExxonMobil for a total of $99,000!

When you file your PFD by March 31 and Pick.Click.Give., you'll be entered to win an extra PFD! Ten lucky Alaskans who Pick.Click.Give will win an extra dividend. Log on to the alaska.gov website to file today.�

Even better...

Your Pick.Click.Give donation to UA will be partially matched by ExxonMobil for increased impact! ExxonMobil has generously pledged up to $50,000 in matching funds to Alaska’s three higher education institutions – UA, APU and Ilisagvik College.

Direct your donation of $500 or more to support the program or scholarship of your choice at UA! Contact our staff at 907-786-1016 or foundation@alaska.edu for more information.

ALREADY FILED BUT FORGOT TO PICK.CLICK.GIVE?

It's easy to log into your PFD application and add a Pick.Click.Give donation! Just visit this link or click on the button below and choose the green "Add a Donation" button.

Thank you, as always, for your generous support of the University of Alaska.

�

Seven-year-old Warren Hayes of Eagle River was randomly selected to win a $25,000 scholarship account in the UA College Savings Plan and four more Alaskans won $2,500 scholarship accounts.

“All Permanent Fund Dividend applicants who answered “yes” to question number six of their PFD application were automatically entered into the annual scholarship account drawing,” said Lael Oldmixon, Executive Director of the UA College Savings Plan. The PFD check-off asks residents if they would like to automatically contribute half of their dividend to their UA College Savings Plan account. She added, “It’s a fun and easy way to incentivize saving for college. The added bonus for us, is getting to tell the winners!”

Representatives of the Plan showed up at the homes of the Anchorage area winners to inform them of their winnings in person. “I couldn’t control my emotions,” said Guy Hayes, father of Warren. “It was pure joy and such an unexpected gift. It is a game changer for our children’s future.” Warren is second of the family’s three young sons. “The permanent fund dividend has always been a blessing for all of us and, like most Alaskans, we come to depend on it every year.�Contributing any amount to the UA College Savings Plan just seemed like the right thing to do.� If you truly want to save money for your kid’s future, it doesn’t get any easier than this.”

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Warren Hayes said that he wants to be an engineer and that he has plans to build a tree house with his brother. He also really likes to eat pizza. In order to help him understand the value of $25,000 his parents attempted to explain it in terms of pizza. Warren’s eyes got big when his mom told him how much pizza this amount could purchase.

The winners of the $2,500 scholarship accounts are:

• Miles Cates, Anchorage
• Sarah Stevens, Anchorage
• Kodi Richards, Sitka
• Ethan Oliver, Anchorage

The UA College Savings Plan has offered the scholarship account giveaway for the last five years. The scholarships are funded by the Education Trust of Alaska, which was established in 2001 to administer the UA College Savings Plan. The drawing aims to give Alaska families an extra incentive to save their Permanent Fund Dividends for higher education expenses. More than 12,800 residents contributed to the UA College Savings Plan through the PFD check off this year, an increase of 700 people from the prior year. The plan has seen a 62 percent increase in contributors since 2009, before the giveaway began.

The Plan allows adult winners to reassign their winnings to a friend or family member. One of the $2,500 scholarship account winners, Sarah Stevens, assigned half of her winnings to each of her two children.

The UA College Savings Plan will offer the scholarship account giveaway again next year. The official application can be completed online or by visiting a distribution center. The application period runs Jan. 1 through March 31, 2015.

Beneficiaries in the Plan may use their funds to pay for education expenses at any eligible college, university, or vocational/technical school in Alaska or the Lower 48. Families can open a tax-advantaged account with their PFD contribution, or with as little as $25 a month.