ABA NEWS

INTRODUCING NEW START

ABA welcomes new START members Noel Carolipio, Business & Administrative Services (BAS), Katerina Donato, Public Safety, and Harold Scott, Facilities Services. START, short for Strategy Team: Achieving Results Together, is comprised of a core group of managers and representatives from each of ABA’s families. START reps communicate with colleagues and gather feedback to inform ABA’s planning and improvement activities, especially those related to staff recognition. START now includes the following members: Sarah Whyte (chair), Julie Carroll, Noel Carolipio, Gina Curry, Katerina Donato, Annette Karle, Gina Lombardo, Harold Scott, Bernie Tano. Thanks go to outgoing START members – Brian Geimer, BAS, and Thelma Matthews, Public Safety, for their valuable contributions over the past two years.

Noel Carolipio Appeals Coordinator University Transportation & Parking (UTAPS)

Harold Scott Lead Custodian Facilities Services

Katerina Donato-Weinstein Dispatch Supervisor/Records Public Safety

Rechelle Arnold

ABA REMEMBERS RECHELLE ARNOLD Regretfully, ABA staff professional and START representative Rechelle Arnold passed away in June, before completing her START term. Rachelle was an engaged and enthusiastic participant, sharing insights and ideas to help improve ABA staff programs. A drafting technician in the Facilities Services Capital Planning and Design Office since 1996, Rechelle was part of a dynamic team responsible for many capital improvements at Sac State. In Facilities Services, she was well known for her love of the Oakland Raiders, the Oregon Ducks and NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. With Rachelle’s passing, ABA and START have lost a valued colleague and a cherished friend.

SYSTEMWIDE COLLABORATION WILL SAVE

Sac State’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) served as the model for development of a system-wide IIPP training tool launched in spring 2010. The new web-based product, developed by the CSU Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) Directors’ Task Force in close collaboration with the Chancellor’s Office Training & Development Department, will save the CSU tens of thousands of dollars in training costs over the next few years.

IIPP training is mandated for all University employees and, previously, individual campuses struggled to provide training on their own. The Task Force, chaired by Associate Vice President for Risk Management Services Mike Christensen, focused its efforts on designing and implementing a training module that communicates safety responsibilities with uniformity system-wide. Other Task Force goals for the new module included the ability to integrate with existing learning management systems (LMS) or be launched from a web page independent of an LMS, and the flexibility to be customized by individual campuses. The project was completed in less than a year, at a substantially lower cost than purchasing from a vendor. The new training module is intuitive and integrates several of the latest techniques and technologies in web-based training (WBT) design to enhance learner knowledge acquisition and retention.

Because the content was developed in-house, no vendor licensing fees will be required now or in the future, resulting in tremendous savings for Sac State and the CSU over the long-term. This accomplishment serves as an excellent example of how CSU employees are working together to reduce costs while improving services.

Public Safety officers gear up for patrol at Sacramento Mountain Lions UFL football game in Hornet Stadium

ABA SUPPORTS UFL FALL SEASON Hornet Stadium is host to the Sacramento UFL Mountain Lions football team fall 2010 season home games. With a $1.1 million artificial turf project completed in July, the University's stadium provides a suitable venue for professional ball teams. Public Safety and UTAPS, who provide support for campus special events, coordinate traffic, parking and safety for 20,000 fans each game. Other ABA offices handle pre-game and back-office details, such as facilities scheduling, risk assessment, contractual services and invoicing.

ONECARD REACHES OUT

No. 1 - Deanna Owen No. 2 - Christine Vang No. 3 - Jessica Craven

Sac State’s OneCard Center is all about service. That’s why the ABA-managed Center is reaching out to students through a new Facebook page. The Center also has a presence at orientations and Move-in-Day, and hosts a variety of fun activities to generate interest. This summer’s Facebook photo contest attracted 30 entries, whose winners (shown below) received $25 deposits (Hornet Bucks) to their OneCard accounts. OneCard’s efforts inform students about the benefits of being a card-holder, such as discounts at local retailers - restaurants, entertainment venues, jewelry and apparel stores, and health and beauty spas.

Students can use the card for free entry to campus athletic events and access to campus printers. Hornet Bucks are accepted at campus food and retail establishments and, when linked to a Wells Fargo Bank checking account, the OneCard serves as an ATM wherever pin-based purchases are accepted. Benefits extend to faculty and staff card holders as well. Watch for changes in January, when the OneCard Center moves into the Student Financial Services Center SFSC in Lassen Hall, making it easier for students to conduct campus business in one location.

ABA JOINS STUDENT VIDEO FUN

Over the summer, the First-Year Experience (FYE) Peer Mentor Club at Sacramento State produced a video aimed at easing the transition from high-school to college “one first-year student at a time.” The idea for the video, done in the style of popular shows Glee and High School Musical, came from a similar Yale admissions video. The Club called on ABA experts Kirt Stout and Heidi Langman to iron out issues related to safety, risk management and facilities access for the filming. ABA staff members, Julie Carroll, Suzanne Flores and Elena Larson from SFSC played extras in the video, and FYE faculty member and University Bursar Gina Curry was featured. CFO and Vice President Mike Lee serves on the FYE Committee. According to Vice President Lori Varlotta, the video was a hit at summer orientation. The eight-minute video can be accessed by clicking on this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEUe4UfnyjE.

	SFSC CELEBRATES HOMECOMING SFSC captured Homecoming spirit by voting in their own king and queen - the lovely Erin Weyand and the exceptionally handsome Sean Johnson. SFSC staff members are enthusiastic in their support of Hornet Athletics and Division 1 activities, donning green on football Fridays in support of the Green Army, a student booster group.

NEW PROCESS IMPROVES RATES

Enrollment cancellations in fall 2010 decreased by over 1,500 from fall 2009. In addition, the number of students who were past due in paying registration fees dropped from 3,153 in fall 2009 to 569 in fall 2010. According to University Bursar Gina Curry, the major reason for the decline in rates is improvements in processing, which now includes rolling due dates and weekly enrollment cancellation. The effective communication of “hard” deadlines and collaboration between the offices of Financial Aid, the Registrar and the Student Financial Services Center (SFSC) contributed to these successful outcomes.

CHILI-N' WITH IRT

IRT AVP Doug Jackson and Chili
Cookoff winner Nadia Mayard

Chili Cookoff judges Eddie Bernard, Carol Houston,
Sarah Whyte, Melissa Repa

Winner Lynn Poythress

PARKING OPTIONS EXPANDED

University Transportation & Parking (UTAPS) began offering a lower cost option for visitor parking in August. Previously, visitors to the campus were limited to the purchase of a $6 full-day parking permit, a deterrent to short-term visits. Now, they can purchase two-hour parking for just $3 per permit. This is one of many ways in which ABA is improving customer service for visitors. Last year’s parking project which retrofitted meters to accept credit cards is another example.

NEWS BITS

Norman Kwong and Angel Thayer
enjoy Sac State Marching Band spirit
at the 2010 Causeway Classic
Luncheon

• Administrative Operations launched the University Records Management website in July.
• Facilities Services celebrated the September opening of the Recreation and Wellness Center, an ambitious Capital Construction project managed by the Planning, Design and Construction Office.
• Facilities Services completed the renovation and remodel of Del Norte Hall offices and state-of the-art smart classrooms, along with HVAC renewals in Shasta and Douglas halls, and parking lot upgrades in lots 4 and 7.
• Financial Services submitted the University’s 2009/2010 legal year-end financial statements to the Chancellor’s Office ahead of deadline this summer.
• Director Gina Lombardo was a sponsor/donor coordinator for the campus 5K Fun Run in June, raising funds for the event and securing prizes for a raffle. Over 600 students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members participated.
• Procurement processed 1,300 purchase orders from July 1 to September 30.
• Public Safety opened two new Police Service Centers in September, one in Desmond Hall and one in the University Union.
• Receiving will begin using the newly implemented Asset Management Bar Coding System in Shasta Hall this fall.
• Reprographics assisted students in the preparation of print files and printed each of the final class projects for 55 Design Program students.
• From July through September, Risk Management Services provided OSHA/EPA training to 184 University employees.