OOC News
March 2013
newsletter
In this issue:
OneCarolina Aiken Update
Click on list item to jump to page
Page 2
• Student Email
• Sequestration
Page 3
• Campus Citizen of
the Month
Page 4
• New Marketing
Campaign
Page 5
• Investiture photos
• USC Aiken in the UK
Page 6
• Task Force Updates
Page 8
• USC Aiken -SRRMou
Page 9
• What are
Governors saying
about higher
education?
Page 10
• EVCAA updates
A
s many of you have heard,
there are big changes on the
horizon! The OneCarolina-Aiken
team is steadily working to prepare
our campus for the upcoming
OneCarolina implementation.
Admissions has been live since
August of 2012, Financial Aid went
live the end of February, and fall
registration for current students
will be conducted in Self Service
Carolina, beginning April 8, 2013.
Dr. Stacie Williams has provided the
following information to advisors:
Registration for Summer I and
Summer II will be conducted in
VIP through the same process as in
previous semesters. Registration for
Fall 2013 will be conducted in Self
Service Carolina (SSC).
A link to SSC has been established
on the USC Aiken homepage (top
menu bar seen above).
Also, you must know your VIP ID
and VIP password to access SSC. If
you do not already have these two
pieces of information they can be
located by completing the steps at
web.usca.edu/help-desk/faculty-andstaff/.
Additional information will
continue to be forwarded as we get
closer to advisement and registration.
Additionally, when you
communicate with your students
about the upcoming transition from
IMS to Banner, please emphasize
these key points:
• Registration for Summer I and II
2013 will be conducted in VIP.
• Registration for Fall 2013 will
be conducted in Self Service
Carolina (SSC). The students
will also be using their VIP ID
and password to log into Self
Service Carolina (SSC)
Natatorium Update
The pool is back up and running! A BIG “Thank
You!” to the entire campus for your patience
while the emergency repairs were completed.
Also, special thanks to John Cumbee for working
so hard to get the repairs done as quickly as
possible.
page 1
The Sequestration
and Us
Student Email Upgrade
S
tudent email is getting a major
upgrade. Email for USC Aiken
students will soon transition to
Outlook.com, a free cloud-based
email system offered by Microsoft.
This is the student email system
currently used throughout the USC
university system.
Moving to Outlook.com means
immediate improvements for
students. Each student will now
have the following benefits:
• 10 GB mail storage (40 times
larger than their current mail
capacity)
• 7 GB of cloud based file
storage using Microsoft’s
SkyDrive
• Integrated cloud based
Calendar
• Access to online versions
of Microsoft Office Word,
PowerPoint, Excel and
OneNote
• Collaboration tools for use
with Word, PowerPoint,
Excel, Calendar and SkyDrive
• Team sites for student
collaboration groups and
projects
• Web conferencing with audio
and HD video (coming soon)
• Windows Instant Messaging
• Windows Live Photo Gallery
• Lifetime mailbox
• Easier email setup for mobile
devices
Faculty and staff will also see
benefits from students moving to
Outlook.com. The decrease in traffic
and usage of USC Aiken’s local mail
system will mean more stability, less
spam, greater availability, and an
opportunity to increase faculty and
staff mailbox sizes.
To make the upgrade possible,
students using Outlook.com have a
new email address schema. Students
will use their Blackboard username,
also known as the USC Network
Username, as their username for
email, and @usca.edu becomes @
email.usca.edu. For example, a
student who previously used jrdoe@
usca.edu will now use doejr@email.
usca.edu or something similar.
New students admitted for the
Fall 2013 semester are already using
Outlook.com. Current students will
be transitioned to the new system
over the next few months.
More information on the
transition will be made available by
email, web, Facebook, Twitter and
other sources as it becomes available.
If you have any questions, concerns
or comments, please send them to
help@usca.edu.
Children’s Center Easter Egg Hunt
The USC Aiken
Children’s Center
will have their
annual Easter
Egg Hunt for the
children of the
center on March
28th at approximately 10 am.
A number of USC Aiken’s
early childhood education
page 2
students (and a few
parents) will hide
the eggs in the
area around the
fountain. Once the
“hunting” begins
the activity is “fast
and furious” and usually lasts
about 10 minutes. Anyone
and everyone on campus is
welcome to come watch!
How will USC Aiken be
affected?
s many of you are aware, on
A
March 1, 2013, President
Obama signed an order required
by the Budget Control Act of
2011 that enacted $85 billion in
federal spending cuts between
March 1, 2013 and September
30, 2013 (commonly referred to a
“sequestration”). Additionally, cuts
in future years will be required if
subsequent congressional action is
not taken.
As a recipient of federal funds
(primarily in the form of grant
dollars and federal student aid) the
University of South Carolina Aiken
is concerned about the implications
of sequestration, and is actively
monitoring the situation. At this
time many federal agencies are
not certain how the cuts will be
implemented. However, preliminary
indications are that FOR THE
CURRENT FISCAL YEAR (FY13)
there should not be any significant
impact to either federal grant dollars
or available financial aid.
The impact of sequestration in
future years will be based on future
congressional action. Preliminary
indications are that sequestration
measures will likely result in cuts
in the range of 5.0-5.1. All forms
of federal financial aid could be
affected by sequestration, including
federal work study support. In
terms of grants, early information
from the Department of Education
emphasizes that in light of cuts the
focus will be on continuing awards,
rather than funding new awards.
Please look for future updates
as additional information becomes
available. If you have questions
about Sequestration, do not hesitate
to contact Joe Sobieralski, Vice
Chancellor of Business & Finance, at
JoeS@usca.edu.
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Congratulations to Sam Pierce for being selected as
Campus Citizen of the month for March 2013!
C
ongratulations to Dr. Samuel Pierce, USC Aiken’s March
Campus Citizen of the Month! Thanks to his efforts in the
History department, he will receive a $20 gift card, a sign for his
desk, and a parking spot.
When nominated, it was stated that Dr. Pierce stepped in to
teach a class after the unexpected departure of a faculty member.
He did so even though it was an overload for him. He has shown
extraordinary willingness to involve himself in all the needs of the
department. He has been very active on the search committee this
year. Last year, because it was his first year, he was not formally
on the committee, but he participated in the campus stage of the
process, and made his views known quietly but clearly. He has
been a stalwart of the department’s efforts to revise the history
curriculum, going beyond what is required of him, to research
various possible ways of organizing courses and requirements.
However, Dr. Pierce’s importance as a campus citizen is best seen
in the small day-to-day interactions he has with his colleagues. He
is pleasant and congenial, with a good word or sympathetic ear
for everyone. For his positive attitude and gentle humor amongst
many other valued qualities, Dr. Sam Pierce is recognized as
“Campus Citizen of the Month.” Congratulations Dr. Pierce!
CAMPUS
CITIZEN
of the Month
T
he Campus Citizen of the Month award is given in recognition of good citizenship. All faculty, classified
and unclassified staff, and university partners who have been with the University for one year and are
in good standing are eligible. The nomination remains active indefinitely in the pool of candidates. The
nomination form must be signed by the nominee’s supervisor and sent to the nominee’s Vice Chancellor in
that unit. The criteria to be used in the nomination are:
o
o
o
Initiative/Creativity: Exhibits
ingenuity and resourcefulness.
Examples: Improved work methods,
efficiency within the department.
Loyalty/Dedication: Willing to go the o
“extra mile” without being asked.
Positive Attitude: Maintains
effective relationships with others
both on and off campus; serves
as role model. Example:
Consistently delivers prompt,
friendly service.
Leadership: Acknowledge
those whose efforts have inspired
and supported the performance
and achievement of others.
Monday Group will review the nominations and select each
month’s winner. Contact Maria Chandler at MariaC@usca.edu
for more information.
page 3
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USC Aiken- The University of Choice
Marketing debuts new multimedia branding campaign
A
new marketing campaign is
underway for USC Aiken.
If you were at the Chancellor’s
Investiture, you would have seen our
introductory video, with our new
slogan, The University of Choice. If
you haven’t seen it yet, there is a link
on our home page under the Choose
USC Aiken icon or click here,
http://youtu.be/sSsjBMSn3OU).
Commercials have already begun
airing in the Aiken/Augusta area,
and will soon be running in
various markets such as Columbia
and Charleston. Billboards have
been purchased in Columbia,
Augusta, North Augusta and Aiken.
Marketing is also looking into
having commercials air in equestrian
areas the University is targeting.
USC Aiken is a destination
University. Once you are here,
there is no need to go anywhere else.
Our U.S. News rankings, athletic
programs, academic excellence and
opportunities for leadership and
involvement are all reasons students
may have to choose USC Aiken. We
have so many choices it just makes
sense to choose USC Aiken, The
University of Choice.
We will be using this branding
in the school’s advertising, on
our website, and throughout the
University. Branding online will
begin once each department’s
pages have been transferred to the
new format, and the Marketing
department is on schedule making
those changes. We are in the
process of interviewing new Web
Coordinator applicants, as well, and
look forward to having a new person
on board in the near future.
Above: Stills from the “Choose USC
Aiken” video on YouTube.
Left: A design for more formal
publications and USC Aiken
materials
Below: A billboard design currently
displayed in Columbia County,
Georgia off Washington Road
Choose
Choose
Excellence
usc AikeN
w w w. u s c a . e d u
page 4
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Dr. Jordan’s Investiture
A great time was had by all of Aiken at Dr. Jordan’s Investiture ceremony and luncheon!
USC Aiken in the UK
Chancellor Jordan and URS foster connections across the pond
in Aiken, a
U RSvitalCorporation
and loyal supporter of
USC Aiken, recently invited several
community and educational leaders
to travel to England to visit the
Sellafield site in Cumbria and meet
with officials in the communities
surrounding the site. URS is a
leading provider of engineering,
construction and technical services
for public agencies and private sector
companies around the world and the
mission they are undertaking at the
Sellafield site is very similar to their
work at Savannah River. Aiken
and the Cumbria communities are
similar in many ways and there are
parallels between the economies,
the workforce and educational
needs, and economic challenges.
URS desired to bring key Aiken
page 5
and Cumbria educational and
community leaders together in the
hopes of fostering collaboration.
As the representative for USC
Aiken, Chancellor Jordan met with
educational leaders in Cumbria
and discussed ways we might
work together to enhance both
our communities by improving
educational opportunities for
students in the UK and US.
The discussions included faculty
exchanges, student exchanges, jointly
sponsored international conferences
and symposia, faculty research
collaborations, adjunct faculty
support, community leadership
development, collaboration on
post-baccalaureate professional
development, the creation of
“discovery programs,” and the
exchange of ideas leading to longlasting educational partnerships.
In the near term, Dr. Virginia
Shervette will participate in the
University of Central Lancaster’s
symposium on anthropogenic
impacts on marine systems on June
4-5, 2013. Additionally, UCLan will
arrange for Dr. Shervette to visit the
main campus to meet the science
faculty to compare research agendas
and determine partnerships for
course to course collaborations.
Over the summer, Dr. Jordan
will work with the Academic
Council and other campus
constituents to develop a “way
forward,” prioritize future
collaborations, and finalize a MOU
with our UK partners.
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Forward together Task Forces
Retention, Progression,
Graduation (RPG)
Chair, Charmaine Wilson
Academic Innovations
Chair, Tim Linter
This task force is exploring issues related to
improving USC Aiken’s retention, progression
and graduation rates. Examples of areas to
explore could include, but are not limited
to: academic success and advisement efforts,
methods for all academic and non-academic
departments across campus to contribute to
RPG, policies and procedures impacting RPG,
issues of customer service, student involvement,
ceremonies and traditions, and academic
engagement. The RPG Task Force reports
that they have formed several “Action Squads”
around advising and support, university
offerings, scheduling, general education
requirements, and retention. The groups are
looking at unintended barriers to student
progression and graduation.
This task force is exploring issues related
to improving the learning experience for
our students. Examples of areas to explore
could include, but are not limited to: use of
technology in the learning process, course
delivery methods, flexible and responsive
scheduling methods, revamping summer school
calendar, utilizing and expanding library and
other resources related to teaching and learning,
and promoting engaged pedagogies. This Task
Force will research several student engagement
strategies including “flipped” teaching, Teach
America opportunities, Learning Communities
with linked themes, effective use of cohorts,
integration of new technologies, alternative
schedules, alternatives to grades, new
programs, augmentation to CETL (Center for
Excellence in Teaching and Learning), and a
Communication Center.
Process and Innovation
Programs of Distinction
Chair, Cheryl Fogle
Chair, Sara Campbell
This task force is exploring issues related
to improving our processes and developing
innovative ways to advance the mission of
the University. Examples of areas to explore
could include, but are not limited to: strategic
partnerships to advance efficiencies, governance
issues, policies and procedures, and workflow
analysis. The group is reviewing processes
that are cumbersome and create workflow
problems as well as innovations that may help
us meet our goals. The Organization Survey
was given to this task force and this group
will review the results of that survey and make
recommendations.
This task force is exploring issues related to
defining areas of excellence and niche opportunities for USC Aiken. The task force should
explore characteristics of signature programs/
programs of distinction in both academic and
non-academic areas. The task force should
recommend a process for USC Aiken to use in
defining programs of distinction.
page 6
Task Force updates for Staff Development,
Advancement and Recognition, Campus
Buildings and Grounds, Internationalizing the
Campus, and Marketing and Recruitment on
page 7
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Task Force updates continued
Marketing and
Recruitment
Chair, Peggy Elliott
This task force is exploring issues related
to expanding USC Aiken’s marketing and
recruitment efforts to attract new students and
tell the University’s story. Examples of areas
to explore could include, but are not limited
to: developing key messages regarding areas of
excellence for each academic and non-academic
department, opportunities for academic and
non-academic departments to more fully
participate in marketing and recruitment, and
opportunities for growth and recruitment with
new populations (veteran/military students,
adult students, international students, honor
students, Hispanic students, Asian students, etc.).
The task force spent some time becoming aware
of the marketing efforts already underway and
are looking at internal and external branding
challenges.
Internationalizing the
Campus
Chair, Maria Anastasiou
This group has been active discussing strategies
to increase campus internationalization. The Task
Force is looking at ways to enhance (and challenge) our student exchange programs, classroom
to classroom collaboration, internationalization
of the USC Aiken curriculum, Faculty Research
Collaboration, Discovery programs, and international service opportunities.
Staff Development,
Advancement and
Recognition
Chair, Angel Miano
This task force is exploring issues related
to providing opportunities for professional
growth and advancement of University staff.
Examples of areas to explore could include,
but are not limited to: exploring the addition
of levels of advancement for staff, leadership
and professional development opportunities,
and rewards and recognitions. The task force is
creating a survey for staff, looking for models
to create “steps” within “grades” of work,
identifying salary issues, and plan to discuss
development opportunities.
Campus Building and
Grounds
Chair, Mike Jara
This task force was created in response to
suggestions that we develop a strategic plan for
the use of the university grounds, including:
beautification, clear entrances, way-finding
signage, using technology around the campus
to build a sense of community and share
information, and connecting the grounds to the
teaching mission of the university (art walks,
ecologically responsible, native plant life, and
fitness options have been suggested).
Taskforce Timeline:
April 15: Taskforces present their recommended goals, action plans, and metrics to the Chancellor
May 1: Action plans on eight themes published on campus
page 7
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New Memorandum of Understanding
with Savannah River Remediation
O n19thMarch
Dr.
Jordan, USC Aiken
Chancellor and Mr.
Olsen, President and
Project Manager
of Savannah River
Remediation,
LLC, signed an
Memorandum of
Understanding
(MOU) indicating
their intention to
deepen the existing
partnership and
connections between
the University of
South Carolina
Aiken and SRR. The
agreement a “way
forward” for future collaborations, including the
intention for SRR to:
• Continue funding URS/SRR Engineering
Scholars scholarships
• Provide internship opportunities for
qualified STEM and other majors where
appropriate
• Conduct at least 1 career development
seminar on campus led by an SRR Executive
• Support USC Aiken faculty by reviewing
undergraduate and graduate STEM related
degrees to provide input and advise on
required courses compared to industry
needs and recommend improvements where
appropriate
• Jointly participate, where possible, in college
fairs starting in 2013/2014 school year
• Explore programs such as a faculty exchange
program for qualified site employees and
qualified USC Aiken faculty and staff, USC
page 8
Aiken Veterans to Careers program,
leadership program and job shadowing
program
• Support 1-on-1 mentoring relationships
between SRR executives and junior/
senior students for career advice and
placement opportunities
• Support USC Aiken faculty as Guest
Lecturer to provide Subject Matter
Expertise
• Explore opportunities to connect with
SRR employees who are alumni of USC
Aiken, and
• Support the USC Aiken Partnership
Board of Directors.
The MOU stipulates that USC Aiken will
assist in the partnerships listed above, such
as recommending appropriate students for
internships and scholarships. The MOU went
into effect immediately upon signing.
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What are the 50
State Governors Saying
about Colleges and
Universities?
education policy professionals
Fat AASCU
have analyzed the State
or the past several years, the
of the State speeches of incumbent
governors and inaugural addresses
of newly elected governors to
determine which trends are
impacting state higher education
policy priorities. Below please find
the summary excerpt of the AASCU
report (originally published in the
March 2013 online AASCU Policy
newsletter) identifying this year’s
trends. It makes for interesting
reading!
“Higher education continues to
play a vital role in state economic
and workforce development
strategies. Similar to last year,
higher education was mentioned
most frequently in the context
of state economic and workforce
development. In all regions of
the country, including both party
page 9
affiliations, governors discussed the
role of colleges and universities in
providing skilled workers to statebased industry, and partnering with
businesses to facilitate job creation
and economic growth. Related
topics included an emphasis on
STEM education and technology
transfer. Of the 50 addresses, 31 tied
higher education to economic and
workforce development.
Restoring state investment in
higher education and keeping college
affordable are a focus. Growing state
revenues have provided a number
of governors with an opportunity
to propose increased funding for
higher education. A number of
speeches expressed concern over
higher tuition and student debt
levels. Efforts to boost state funding
were often matched with calls
for implementing performancebased funding, restraint in tuition
increases, and boosting campus
efficiency.
A growing emphasis on collegeand career-readiness. Several
governors stressed the importance of
having students ready for the rigors
of college and the workforce, with a
number of state leaders highlighting
remediation rates for recent high
school graduates. The number of
governors who discussed this topic
grew substantially from last year.
Emerging issues include
online college programming and
medical education. Several state
chief executives have proposed
state efforts to create additional
online college opportunities geared
toward working adults in an effort
to spur degree completions and to
meet state educational attainment
goals. Governors also emphasized
policy proposals to help alleviate the
shortage of nurses and physicians to
serve in high-need communities.”
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EVCAA Search Update
T
he Search Committee for the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs convened for their third meeting
on March 6, 2013. At that time they decided which candidates would be brought to campus for interviews.
Prior to those decisions, the committee conducted Skype interviews with a number of candidates during February.
Candidates will be on campus during the weeks of March 25 and April 1. Meetings with faculty and staff will take
place along with presentations for all interested in attending. The website may be found at http://web.usca.edu/
evcaa and includes the job description, agendas/minutes of meetings, the search timeline, and a convenient feedback
form for input from the campus community to the search committee. Questions may also be directed to Jane
Tuten, chair of the EVCAA Search Committee, at JaneT@usca.edu.
The following four individuals are finalists for the position of EVCAA:
Dr. Nat Frazer
Senior Fellow, Association of American College and Universities;
Professor, Department of Environment and Society,
College of Natural Resources, Utah State University
Dr. Jeffrey Priest
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
University of South Carolina Aiken
Dr. Niles Reddick
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Affairs
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Dr. Patricia Wachholz
Dean, College of Education,
Armstrong Atlantic University
page 10
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