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Seminole State College
100 Weldon Boulevard
Sanford, Florida 32773-6199
407.708.4722

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First Wednesday Update: Sept. 1, 2010

Pathfinder Award Nominations

You still have time to submit a nomination for the 2010 Pathfinder Awards to be distributed during the Sept. 28 Collegewide Convocation. Please submit the name of an individual or department, together with the reasons for the nomination (in less than 500 words,) to Yolanda Williams via e-mail by the end of the day this Friday, Sept. 3. The individual Pathfinder recipient will receive a $2,000 cash award (less applicable taxes) to spend as he or she pleases. Any full-time faculty/staff member employed over one year may be nominated for this award. The $2,000 awarded to the department receiving the Pathfinder Award may be spent on department equipment or a department activity based upon parameters to be determined by the Foundation for Seminole State, which is providing the funds for this award.

Collegewide Convocation on Sept. 28

Please mark your calendar. Every Seminole State faculty and staff member is invited to our annual Collegewide Convocation, to be held Tuesday, Sept. 28 in the Sanford/Lake Mary Gymnasium. All College sites and offices will be closed to students for the entire day and evening. Here is the agenda for Sept. 28th:

• 8-10 a.m.: Individual department/division meetings or activities
• 10:30 a.m.: Career Service/Pathfinder Awards and Recognition Program in S/LM Gymnasium
• 11:30 a.m.: Barbecue Buffet "Employee Appreciation Luncheon" ... lunch seating inside Gymnasium
• 12:30 - 4 p.m.: Professional development opportunities for all employees. A complete list of activities will be finalized and distributed by Sept. 15th.

Unionization Election

Both the College and UFF-Seminole have agreed to waive any objections to the Aug. 19 recommendation by Florida's Public Employee Relations Commission (PERC). The PERC hearing officer recommended the following bargaining unit — should the faculty elect to form a union at Seminole State College.

• Included: All full-time teaching faculty, librarians, counselors, professors/directors and professors/program managers
• Excluded: President of the College; all administrative, professional, and career service positions; all department chairs; all temporary full-time faculty; and all part-time and adjunct faculty

Last Friday, both the College and UFF-Seminole officers also agreed to jointly request an expedited Election Order, with the expectation that the unionization election will take place "on site" at Seminole State's four campuses. PERC's election officers will now determine the date and times for the election based upon PERC's schedule ... most likely in late September or early October.

New E-mail Emergency Messaging

After several years of partnering with Seminole County's Emergency Operations department to offer emergency text/e-mail messaging via "Alert Seminole," our College is adding an expanded emergency communications capability of our own. Later this month, all Seminole State employees and students enrolled in the current term will be automatically populated into an emergency e-mail system. In the event of an emergency, an e-mail will be sent to all employees and students from "Seminole State Alert." There is no need to sign up for this service — everyone with a current College e-mail address will automatically receive any and all emergency messages. Please look for more details in mid-September from our College's Emergency Response Team.

Sept. 22 Emergency Test

The next test of our College's Emergency Notification System (via classroom and office phones) will occur on Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m. on all Seminole State sites. Here's what you can expect:

• You will hear an emergency sound emanating from all campus phones, followed by a brief test message.
• If you are on the phone, your call will be placed on hold for the 90-second duration.
• A text message will follow on your Cisco IP Phone. Hit "Exit" to remove the text message.

The Emergency Response Team (ERT) will once again observe and learn from the results of this test. Additional reminders about this test will be sent to employees and students several days in advance.

New Financial Aid Participation Agreement

Seminole State has an ongoing "Participation Agreement" with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) which allows the College to continue funding our students' Pell Grants, loans and other sources of federal aid. With the addition of multiple campuses and the Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) in Interior Design at Seminole State, we were required this year to update this agreement. The U.S. DOE reviewed all of our updates and has confirmed that the College is providing the proper services and that the programs we offer meet all state and federal requirements. Therefore, Seminole State's Participation Agreement has been recertified and is effective for four more years — through June 30, 2014. Congratulations to Bob Lynn and the entire Financial Aid team for achieving the Partnership Agreement renewal, which also includes several new certificate programs now eligible for funding — opening the door for more students to receive funds for their college education.