MISSION STATEMENT Kalamazoo Valley Community College creates innovative and equitable
opportunities that empower all to learn, grow and thrive.
May 15, 2024
Greetings,
My heart goes out to those who have been impacted by the devastating tornadoes last Tuesday, including some from our own Kalamazoo Valley family. The aftermath of storms like these can be a time of learning as we consider and appreciate what is truly important to us in our lives. I wish for all of us a sense of calm after the storm.
For those who have been affected by the tornadoes, you might be able to receive community assistance by calling the Gryphon Place emergency phone number 211. If you become aware of students who have been directly impacted, they may also be eligible for community assistance through 211. Our college also has some student emergency funds supplied by the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation. Direct them to ask about these emergency resources in the Student Financial Services office.
Despite this unforeseen challenge, I hope that the summer semester has started a fresh season of growth and learning for all of us. Thank you for the important work that you are doing and for the caring spirit you share with our students, colleagues and broader community.
Sincerely,
L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D.
President
Updates from Public Safety Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Public Safety department offers this reminder about Severe Weather Procedures during the month of May. Michigan typically experiences a rise in severe weather during this time and the recent tornadoes in Kalamazoo County have reminded us that we must stay vigilant. This can also be done at home with your family so that you are prepared in the time of emergency.
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Emergency Procedures of the college. They can be found on yellow posters and within the yellow Emergency Guidebooks. Public Safety and administrative staff monitor the weather during incidents of severe weather and have protocols in place to protect staff and students. If a severe weather emergency is activated, Public Safety will utilize the public emergency alert system, informing you of the emergency and to take shelter at a designated shelter location within the campus.
In the Event of Severe Weather
Stay calm and secure your area if available prior to leaving.
Assist any persons who may need assistance in clearing their work area and getting to a designated shelter. If you are an area leader, and if it can be done safely, assist your staff in exiting and pointing out the designated shelter area. Do a final sweep of your area for anyone left behind prior to exiting.
Take any personal belongings that you can carry with you.
Shelters are designated with yellow placards throughout campus. They are also marked on various maps throughout each campus building. Take the time this month to find out where the closest shelter is to your workspace. An interior room without windows will work as well, so bathrooms are sometimes used as shelters. Look for a location that is secure and structurally sound.
Please stay in the shelter until the "All Clear" is given via the PA system or Emergency Alert system or directed by a designated staff or area leader.
The National Weather Service will usually issue a tornado watch or a warning via television and an alert on your phone. A tornado watch indicates that conditions are at an increased risk of severe weather capable of producing a tornado. A tornado warning is when a tornado has been observed or detected in the area.
Please consider signing up for RAVE, if you have not already. RAVE is the alerting system that sends important messages to your phone via text. The college uses RAVE to send out school closures and emergency information. You can find RAVE sign-up on the college website, under "Services" and then the "Safety" tab.
Cosmetology and Barbering Open House Planned for May 23 Faculty and staff are invited to tour the college's new School of Cosmetology and Barbering on Thursday, May 23 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. The nearly 10,000 square-foot lab space is located in the renovated Redwood Building on the college's Texas Township Campus and includes the cosmetology school's salon and spa and the barbering school's barbershop. Staff will be available to answer questions about the new school and its program offerings.
Check Processing During Summer Hours Beginning with summer hours, the Accounts Payable checks will be processed on Wednesdays to ensure the process can be completed and checks can be mailed by the end of the week. In order to facilitate this change, all invoices that need to be paid each week need to be received by the Business Office (Accounts Payable) by Monday. Any invoices received after Monday, including invoiced received, but not properly approved or coded, will be processed the following week.
Please contact the Business Office with questions, Gavin Henry x4756 or Brittany Clark x4410 or emailaccountspayable@kvcc.edu.
Timesheet Submission and Approval Deadline Change, Memorial Day and Summer Hours In order to help assist employees and supervisors in meeting the deadline to submit and approve timesheets and leave reports, the deadline for submission and approval is being extended from 5 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. on the date due starting with pay period 11 (6/14/24 pay date). Employees and supervisors will now have until the end of the day to submit and/or approve timesheets or leave reports.
Please note that payroll staff will be available to assist employees and supervisors with issues during normal business hours (7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. during summer hours). Outside of this time, employees and/or supervisors will need to submit requests for assistance to payroll@kvcc.edu. Payroll will respond to requests the following business day. It is important to note that response to requests may be after the submission/approval deadline and manual adjustments may be required by the supervisor at that point. If supervisors know they will need payroll to push timesheets that have not been started or need payroll assistance to complete approvals, it is recommended that supervisors contact payroll during business hours before the deadline to ensure payroll is able to assist.
Timesheet Submission Reminders
Due to the start of summer hours and the Memorial Day holiday, your Payroll Department is sending a friendly reminder of how to process these events on your timesheets:
Summer Hours
Full-time hourly staff who work in buildings that close on Fridays during summer hours should record four hours of TOP (time-off paid) on each Friday of their timesheet during summer hours, which started on May 6 and go through Friday, Aug. 2.
Additionally, during summer hours, the increments for half-day and full-day leave use will be 4.5 and 9 hours, respectively.
Staff who do not work a regular Monday - Friday shift or who work in buildings that are open on Fridays during the summer should follow the same procedures as in prior years for recording time worked.
Memorial Day
Full-time hourly staff should record 9 hours of TOP on their time sheet for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 27. If a full-time hourly employee worked on the Memorial Day holiday, please refer to the employee handbook (Section 38 - Holidays) for assistance on how to record your time worked on the timesheet.
If you are unsure if or how you should record TOP time for summer hours or the Memorial Day holiday, please check with your supervisor or human resources for assistance.
Timesheet Submission As a reminder, timesheets are due to be completed by Friday, May 31; however, with summer hours in place, most employees will not be on campus at that time. Please make necessary arrangements to complete and submit your time sheets prior to leaving campus for the day on Thursday, May 30. Alternatively, the Banner Self-Service application can be access off campus by logging into the Employee Portal at home.kvcc.edu.
Any questions may be directed to the Payroll Department. You may call Anita Gonzales at x4872, Megan Collins at x4898 or Molly Riley at x4239; or you may send an email to payroll@kvcc.edu.
Thank you for your continued effort to ensure proper and timely completion of your timesheets.
Electronic Textbooks and Courseware Available for Classes Please spread the word to students that they automaticallyget electronic versions of books and other course materials for their classes. It's called Ready Day One. The cost is charged to their tuition bill. E-books tend to be at least 50 percent cheaper than hardcover and paperback textbooks. Their instructor must have selected the option for the course and many do. Within 24 hours of registering for a class with the electronic materials option, the Bookstore sends an email to students indicating that they are enrolled in Ready Day One and that e-course materials will be available in their Canvas account on the first day of class. If they wish to opt out and remove the charge from their bill, let students know that they must either do it from their Canvas account, email the Bookstore at bookstore.kvcc.edu or call x4030 within two weeks from the first day of class. Call for Entries for Student Planner Information Closes June 10 It's time to submit your department's events and important dates for inclusion in the college's 2024-2025 Student Planner. This printed piece will serve as a compass for campus engagement as students navigate through the academic year. The call for entries period closes Monday,June 10 by 5 p.m.
Prior to submitting information for inclusion in the planner, event requests must be submitted to Event Services via Astra Schedule for review. Once your events have been approved, please click here to submit your information for inclusion in the planner.
Note that non-event information, such as important academic calendar or application dates, do not require an Astra Schedule review. Virtual events, or events that are not on any of the college's campuses, may also be submitted for inclusion in the planner without an Astra Schedule review. For questions, contact Khadijah Kabbani. Welcome to the Kalamazoo Valley Libraries! Kalamazoo Valley's Libraries answer questions of all kinds. Do your students need help with research? Are they having trouble formatting a paper? Do they need a laptop or Wi-Fi hotspot? We can help them find the answers and resources they need. We have locations at the Texas Township Campus and at Anna Whitten Hall.
Student Technology Loan
Students can borrow a laptop computer, Wi-Fi hotspot and/or a graphing calculator. Technology is available on a first come, first served basis with a Valley ID card. All laptops have webcams and microphones, and access to Canvas, Zoom, Microsoft Office and Respondus Lockdown Browser.
Ask a Librarian
Your students have questions about research and citation. Send them to the Libraries for answers. Copy and paste this helpful information into a Canvas announcement or page. Study Spaces
Both the TTC and AWH libraries have quiet and scenic study spaces with computer and printer access. The TTC Library has study rooms available on a walk-in basis, and the lower level study room has a computer workstation with a webcam, so students can attend a Zoom class in the library. Hours and Contact Information
News from Human Resources Employee Assistance Program
Did you know that all employees at Kalamazoo Valley have access to our Employee Assistance Program? This is a confidential work-based program that offers resources to employees. For more information, click here.
Pet Insurance with Nationwide
Having a pet can be worrisome when they get sick. Insurance can help manage the financial burden of unexpected veterinary bills caused by accidents or illnesses. For more information, click here.
Employees Should Verify Service Credit
All employees, especially those close to retirement or getting ready to retire, should check their years of service in miAccount. For security reasons, members will use MiLogin to access miAccount. It is important that members verify that their service credit is correct, and that they will have enough service credit by their planned retirement effective date. This is also a great time to review your personal information (address, email and beneficiary) while checking your service credit.
Office of Retirement Services and Voya
Do you have an MPSERS and/or Voya account? Voya offers one-on-one virtual appointments and webinars. Click here to register for a session.
TIAA
Do you have an account with TIAA? To meet for a one-on-one appointment with the assigned TIAA financial consultant, use the One-on-One Meetings scheduling link. A listing of webinars for April, May and June can be found by clicking here.
Diversity and Bias in the Search Committee Trainings This is a required training for anyone wishing to serve on a search committee. All staff and faculty are welcome, even if you have taken it before. This is a session that has evolved over time, so some material and content may be new. It is also a worthwhile experience for anyone wishing to help in the continuous effort of moving our institution toward achieving one of the critical goals in the college's strategic plan.
June 11 | 2 - 4 p.m. Register Here
July 10 | 9 - 11 a.m. Register Here
Aug. 29 | 10 a.m. - noon Register Here
Police Academy Graduates 22 Congratulations to the 22 men and women who graduated last week from Kalamazoo Valley's Police Officer Training Academy. All of the graduates were sponsored by local law enforcement agencies and will soon begin serving their respective communities.
Graduates include:
Jason Alvarez - Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
Brittany Cooper - Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office
Heather Crooks - Grand Beach Michiana Police Department
Jack Dillon - Bridgman Police Department
Kyle Gabrielse - Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
Autumn Hannink - Allegan County Sheriff's Office
Steven Harthorn - Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
Jason Higley - Cass County Sheriff's Office
Reagan Kreiner - Benton Charter Township Police Department
Nathan Larson - City of Portage Police Department
Hunter Levandoski - Gun Lake Tribal
Taylor Lewandowski - Branch County Sheriff's Office
Tre'von Mills - Portage Police Department
Logan Nierenberger - Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
Gavin Ruh - Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office
Kelsey Showers - Cass County Sheriff's Office
Ryan Soper - Baroda Township Police
Ryan Streelman - St. Joseph Public Safety Department
Stephen Stuifbergen - Mattawan Police Department
Jarvis Tarnowski - St. Joseph Public Safety Department
Jacob Taylor - Branch County Sheriff's Office
Dalton Turner - Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety
Early/Middle College Students Celebrated May 9 Nearly 150 students were celebrated last week for completing the Early/Middle College program. The group had an average GPA of 3.26 and 83 of the 146 students finished with a degree or certificate.
Degrees and certificates awarded include:
54 Associate of Arts
14 Associate of Science
6 Associate of Applied Science
9 Certificates of Achievement
The highest honor that Kalamazoo Valley Community College bestows on a student-athlete - the coveted annual Dale B. Lake Award - this year goes to two graduating Cougars who were standouts in their individual sports as well as in the classroom. Rylie Glass excelled on the volleyball team and Kevin Krill on the baseball team. Glass managed to maintain a 3.71 grade point average while serving as captain of the volleyball team this past season. She received her associate degree in general studies in April. Glass, who majored in nursing, plans to finish nursing school at Madonna University in Livonia, where she will also play volleyball. Krill held a 4.0 GPA during his time at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. He also graduated in April; he received an associate degree in science. He will play for the Kalamazoo Growlers again this summer. He is weighing several offers to play baseball at a four-year school and hopes to decide soon. Read full story here.
Spring Sports Wrap Up Conference Games Let's thank the Cougars baseball and softball teams for their hard work this season that ended on May 4! The men placed second and the women fifth in the Western Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association. The baseball team ended with a league record of 17 - 8 and an overall record of 31 - 14 under Head Coach Steve Bennecke, qualifying them for the NJCAA Region 12 Division II Tournament. Keep up with the tournament scores at athletics.kvcc.edu. The softball team finished with a league record of 11 - 19 and an overall record of 15 - 25 under Lisa Karau, in her first year as head coach. The team will not be moving on to post-season tournament play.
LAST CHANCE: Author Bonnie Jo Campbell Exhibit Ends June 30 Award-winning local author Bonnie Jo Campbell brings her history, as well as many personal items from her writing world, to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum in a mini-exhibit that showcases "What It Means to Be a Hometown Writer." The exhibit features photos, awards, souvenirs from her travels, personal items from her writing world and an extended video interview with Campbell, all to showcase her work and inspirations for writing. It closes June 30. Admission is free to the exhibit and the museum.
