Category: Faculty and Staff Resources

Jeremy Kohn, ChFC, TIAA financial consultant, will be available for in-person meetings at Wichita State Dec. 3 and 4. At these meetings, Jeremy can help you confirm that you are on track for retirement and provide specific investment recommendations for your TIAA accounts.

If you are interested in meeting with Jeremy, schedule a time to meet, and have your TIAA login credentials handy. If you need scheduling assistance, you can call the TIAA scheduling team at 800-732-8353.

If you are not able to schedule a meeting with Jeremy because appointments have filled and you do not see a virtual option on another day, you can email Jeremy directly at jeremy.kohn@tiaa.org to schedule another appointment and his team will assist you.

A few reminders about your SEHP accounts to wrap up 2024. You may have funds expiring at the end of this year.

SEHP HRA/FSA 2024 deadlines:

• HRA funds must be used on eligible expenses incurred on or before Dec. 31.
• For FSA funds, there is a maximum rollover amount of $640, so if you have funds in excess of that amount, those funds must also be used on eligible expenses incurred on or before Dec. 31 or they will be forfeited.
• Dependent Care FSA expenses have a 75-day grace period where you can incur expenses up until March 16, 2025, and must file claims against your 2024 balance by April 30, 2025. Any funds remaining after this date are forfeited.

HealthQuest 2024 deadlines:

• You have until Dec. 31 to earn credits towards the premium discount.

Also, your medical plan deductible and out-of-pocket maximums reset on Jan. 1, 2025 and you will also start fresh earning HealthQuest credits for reward dollars in 2025 and to earn your premium discount for 2026.

If you have questions about any of these deadlines, contact TotalRewards@wichita.edu.

Attend these come-and-go events where you can work on entering Faculty Annual Activity Report (FAAR) activities or ask questions and learn more about the new Watermark Faculty Success program.

Each event is held in 217 Ablah Library:

• 1:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26
• 1-4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2
• 9 a.m.-noon Thursday, Dec. 12

Questions in the meantime? See the Faculty Success webpage and the newly compiled sets of instructions. Get help with:

• Working with Activities
• Submitting Your FAAR

Email notification to begin the submission process coming soon.

The University Staff Senate has established a scholarship to help in the advancement of WSU staff and their dependents. Staff members or their dependents beginning or continuing their first bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply. This scholarship can be combined with the university’s Tuition Assistance and other awards and can be used for tuition, books and fees.

Applications for the University Staff Senate scholarship open Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 and close Feb. 1, 2025 for the fall 2025 award. For more information and to apply, visit the Staff Senate Scholarship webpage.

Tuition Assistance applications for spring 2025 are now being accepted through the Online Application Form. The online application will be available through the end of the business day on Jan. 6, 2025, and will close at the end of this application period. Also, with the recent changes to the tuition assistance program, applications can now be submitted for both spring and summer 2025.

Due to the volume of applications received each semester, requests to submit late applications will be automatically denied. There will be no exceptions.

Questions may be directed to TuitionAssistance@wichita.edu.

Administrative support staff have a valuable resource for connecting with one another through the Admins Coming Together (ACT) initiative, sponsored by the University Staff Senate and led by Angela Linder, office manager in the Office of Financial Aid.

The group’s October meeting focused on Breast Cancer Awareness Month and featured a discussion led by Renée Means, a support group coordinator, who shared her experiences and the support available through Victory in the Valley. You can read more about the October meeting of the group in the Sunflower.

The next ACT meeting will take place in January 2025, with the date and topic to be announced. Staff who are interested in attending or would like to suggest a topic for ACT meetings can contact Angela Linder at angela.linder@wichita.edu. Learn more about the Admins Coming Together initiative on the Admins Coming Together webpage.

Review the policies for Veterans Day compensation hours below or consult the Veterans Day FAQ.

Non-exempt employees:

• The “Holiday Pay Non-Exempt” earn code is defaulted on your timesheet. Do not remove or adjust this.
• If you work on Veterans Day:
  • Select “Holiday Worked Comp Earned 1.50” for comp time earned and enter the number of hours worked. There will be two entries for Nov. 11.
  • Or select “Holiday Worked Paid 1.50” for overtime paid and enter the number of hours worked. There will be two entries for Nov. 11.
• If you did not work on Veterans Day, no further action is needed.

Exempt employees:

• If you worked on Veterans Day, no action is required on your leave report. You will have eight hours of Veterans Day to use until the end of the fiscal year, June 7, 2025.
• If you did not work or worked a half day on Veterans Day, select “Veterans Day Exempt Holiday” on Nov. 11 and enter hours in half-day or full-day increments.

For additional questions regarding Veterans Day, email timekeeping@wichita.edu.

Attend a come-and-go training session for faculty who want to learn more about Watermark Faculty Success, the new platform for the Faculty Annual Activity Report (FAAR). Learn how to get started or bring your questions to these open labs. All sessions are offered in remote format through Microsoft Teams. If you have questions, contact Rachel Crane at rachel.crane@wichita.edu.

Get started:

• Entering activity data
• Importing citations
• Running reports

Schedule:

• 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5
• 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7
• 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8

Attend a come-and-go training session for faculty who want to learn more about Watermark Faculty Success, the new platform for the Faculty Annual Activity Report (FAAR). Learn how to get started or bring your questions to these open labs. All sessions are offered in remote format through Microsoft Teams. If you have questions, contact Rachel Crane at rachel.crane@wichita.edu.

Get started:

• Entering activity data
• Importing citations
• Running reports

Schedule:

• 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30
• 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1
• 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5
• 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7
• 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8

Attend a come-and-go training session for faculty who want to learn more about Watermark Faculty Success, the new platform for the Faculty Annual Activity Report (FAAR). Learn how to get started or bring your questions to these open labs. All sessions are offered in remote format through Microsoft Teams. If you have questions, contact Rachel Crane at rachel.crane@wichita.edu.

Get started:

• Entering activity data
• Importing citations
• Running reports

Schedule:

• 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16
• 10 a.m. Friday Oct. 18