eInside Briefs

Kent State’s Professional Sales Certificate Named a Top University Sales Program

Kent State University’s College of Business Administration was recently recognized by the Sales Education Foundation as a 2014 Top University for Professional Sales Education.

Ellen Daniels, faculty member with Kent State’s College of Business Administration, says this is quite an accomplishment.

“We compete against highly regarded programs at Ohio University, the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University,” she says. “This assists our Kent State University graduates in finding better jobs by validating their efforts in the sales classes.”

This is less than a year after the Professional Sales Certificate was first offered in fall 2013 through Kent State’s Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. It requires that students take an additional 15 credits, including three for a professional sales internship. Daniels says she knows that the certificate will give students an edge in the field of sales or any career in marketing.

“The job market is highly competitive for graduates, and the Professional Sales Certificate offers students the opportunity to not only learn professional selling skills, but it also differentiates them from other job seekers,” Daniels says. “One of the great selling points is that this certificate can enhance the résumés of all Kent State majors because selling skills are becoming increasingly important to employers.”

According to the Sales Education Foundation, approximately 50 percent of all graduates with a business degree will enter the workforce in a sales-oriented role. Students with a sales education move up 50 percent faster and turnover 30 percent less than their nonsales educated peers.

Sally Stevens, executive director of the Sales Education Foundation, noted that companies have an increased focus on partnering with university sales programs.

“With a proven track record for producing top sales talent, the future of university sales education is brighter than ever,” Stevens says.

Daniels hopes to see the Kent State program continue to grow as the need for professional salespeople continues to grow.

“Because this program is valuable to all majors, we hope that students will take advantage of these courses,” she says. “There are many aspects of selling that we may be able to offer in the future to help our students perform better in the marketplace.”

Four Kent State students graduated with their Professional Sales Certificates in spring 2014. Those students were fashion merchandising majors Sharea Elkins and Autumn Richards, business management major Steven Lopez and marketing major Kenneth Rundo.

“Our first certificate graduate had a medical sales job before he graduated in December and has informed me he is doing very well,” Daniels says. “I fully expect all four to find professional jobs that will utilize their sales skills in whatever career they choose.”

For more information about the Sales Education Foundation, visit www.salesfoundation.org.

For more information about Kent State’s College of Business Administration, visit www.kent.edu/business.

Deadline for Distinguished Teaching Award Nominations is June 30

Leslie Heaphy, Ph.D., (middle) associate professor of
history at Kent State University at Stark, earned one of
three 2013 Distinguished Teaching Awards. Standing with
Heaphy are Walter Wagor, Ph.D., dean of Kent State Stark,
and Lori Randorf, assistant vice president for alumni
relations.

The Kent State University Alumni Association is seeking nominations for the Distinguished Teaching Awards until June 30.

Sponsored by the Alumni Association since 1967, the Distinguished Teaching Award is the university’s most prestigious honor in teaching for full-time, tenure-track faculty. The award is presented annually to three full-time faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary teaching in the classroom and a devotion to touching the lives of students. Qualified nominees include Kent State tenure-track faculty who are currently employed by the university.

Visit www.ksualumni.org/dta for the nomination form and detailed eligibility requirements.

Blackstone LaunchPad Client Selected for 2014 Flashstarts Tech Accelerator Class

reMesh continues to build upon recent success

reMesh, founded by Andrew Konya, a
chemical physics Ph.D. candidate in Kent
State University’s Liquid Crystal Institute®,
was one of 12 select software startups
accepted into this year’s Flashstarts
accelerator program. Flashstarts is a
Cleveland-based startup accelerator
and venture fund.

Flashstarts, the Cleveland-based startup accelerator and venture fund, announced that reMesh, a Blackstone LaunchPad company founded by Andrew Konya, a chemical physics Ph.D. candidate in Kent State University’s Liquid Crystal Institute®, was one of 12 select software startups accepted into this year’s accelerator program.

reMesh offers a community, group, nation or planet of people the ability to speak with one voice; a voice that represents the collective thinking of all people within the group. As a member of Flashstarts, Konya and co-founder Aaron Slodov, an engineering Ph.D. student at Case Western Reserve University and former Google engineer, will receive a $25,000 investment to further the building of their business and will have access to Flashstarts’ management team and guidance, as well as the support from up to 20 interns. 

"Andrew and Aaron's innovation offers a groundbreaking opportunity to effectively harness true collective human intelligence," says Flashstarts co-founder and CEO Charles Stack. "reMesh enables groups of people to engage in real-time conversations with individuals or other groups utilizing a single voice--with the help of some nearly incomprehensible fancy math and the clever application of modern technology. These 'crowdversations' have application in international relations, politics, marketing and many other uses just waiting to be imagined."

"I dream of a world where conflicts are resolved by conversations, not wars; where people do not pay for the mistakes of their governing officials and where humanities' collective wisdom is used to make life better for us all,” says Konya. “Explosive advancements in technology over the past decade have made this world a possibility, and I am humbled and excited for the opportunity to make this world a reality through reMesh."

The announcement of reMesh into this year’s Flashstarts class comes on the heels of a $25,000 Innovation Fund award the company received last November. At the end of the 12-week Flashstarts summer program, reMesh will be eligible for follow-on investments of up to $500,000.

Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad promotes entrepreneurship as a viable career path. Through mentoring, workshops and events, and connecting entrepreneurs to resources, Blackstone LaunchPad helps Kent State students, faculty, staff and alumni to create new startups or grow existing businesses in Northeast Ohio. For more information about the Blackstone LaunchPad program, visit www.kent.edu/blackstonelaunchpad.

Flashstarts is a Cleveland-based business startup accelerator and venture fund focused on unique and innovative uses of software and technology. Startups benefit from Flashstarts’ executive team’s deep expertise in enterprise and healthcare IT, gigabit fiber applications, mobile and digital publishing and media. Flashstarts’ rigorous 12-week summer accelerator program is powered by rapid cycles of feedback and iteration, customized guidance from dedicated coaches, an extensive network of top-tier, experienced mentors and an award-winning intern program. For more information, visit www.flashstarts.com.

Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services Launches Summer Institute for Diverse Graduate Students

Two prospective Kent State University graduate students
from the College of Education, Health and Human Services
participate in the inaugural class of the Summer Experience
for Emerging Diverse Scholars program.

Kent State University’s College of Education, Health and Human Services welcomed its inaugural class of the Summer Experience for Emerging Diverse Scholars (SEEDS) program on June 16. The Summer Experience for Emerging Diverse Scholars program promotes graduate education within the college to prospective graduate students of diverse backgrounds, specifically African-American, Latino American, Asian-American and Native American. It is co-sponsored by the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Kent State.

The program allows participating students to meet face-to-face with their future faculty members, students in their program and other graduate programs and receive introductions to area and local attractions, while ultimately qualifying for funding that contributes to their education at Kent State.

“The Summer Experience for Emerging Diverse Scholars students are selected by the college’s faculty from their interested program through an application process that began in December,” says N.J. Akbar, director of the Office of Diversity Outreach and Development at Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services.

“We are excited to welcome students from a wide range of undergraduate institutions in addition to Kent State,” he continues. “We have students from the University of Louisville, Eastern Michigan University, College of Wooster, The University of Akron, Ohio State University, Miami University, Marygrove College and Wilberforce University who will all come explore our campus with the overall goal of helping the scholars see this as a place for their graduate education.”

Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services and the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion collectively provide meals, lodging and transportation within the area for all the program’s scholars while they are on campus. Students must be willing to provide their own transportation to and from the university.

All SEEDS scholars will receive a $1,000 Dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Services Scholarship for their participation should they enroll in a program within the college for graduate school. Students entering in fall 2014 in a program within the college’s School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration will receive $5,000 per year for their two-year program to aid in their educational pursuits. Students must be admitted into one of the eligible programs to receive any of the funding resources available for participants.  

“The Summer Experience for Emerging Diverse Scholars program is just one way that our college is displaying its commitment to diversity and increased access to advanced education,” Akbar says.

For more information about the Summer Experience for Emerging Diverse Scholars program at Kent State, contact the Office of Diversity Outreach and Development within the College of Education, Health and Human Services at 330-672-2537 or ehhsdiversity@kent.edu.

For more information about Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services, visit www.kent.edu/ehhs.

Important Information About Final Grading of Summer 2014 First 7 Weeks (W1) Classes

Online final grading for summer 2014 First 7 Weeks (W1) courses meeting from May 12 through June 28 begins Thursday, June 26, via FlashFAST. Grading is also now available for any summer 2014 course section that was flexibly scheduled and has an end date no later than June 28. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Tuesday, July 1. Any final grades for summer 2014 First 7 Weeks (W1) courses not reported in FlashFAST by the grades processing deadline will have to be submitted using the Grade Change Workflow. These summer 2014 First 7 Weeks (W1) courses will be available in the Workflow on Thursday, July 3.

Incomplete Mark and NF/SF Grades:

The administrative mark of IN (Incomplete) may be given to students who are unable to complete the work due to extenuating circumstances. To be eligible, undergraduate students must be currently passing and have completed at least 12 weeks of the semester. The timeline shall be adjusted appropriately for flexibly scheduled courses. Graduate students must be currently earning a C or better grade and are unable to complete the required work between the course withdrawal deadline and the end of classes. Instructors are required to complete and submit an Incomplete Mark Form to the department chair when an incomplete mark is assigned. Access the form from your Faculty Toolbox in FlashLine.

The grade SF (Stopped Attending–Fail) denotes that the student stopped attending the course and did not formally withdraw and must be accompanied by a date of last attendance in the course.

The grade NF (Never Attended–Fail) denotes that the student neither attended one class session nor formally withdrew from the course.

For complete information on university grading policies including Incomplete Mark and NF/SF grading policies, procedures and timelines, please visit the Grading Policies and Procedures section in the University Catalog at www.kent.edu/catalog.

Grades Processing Tips and FAQ may be found on the Office of the University Registrar's website at www.kent.edu/registrar/facstaff/facresc.cfm. Any faculty member needing personalized instruction on submitting their grades via FlashFAST should contact their campus Registrar's Office during normal business hours for assistance.

To access FlashFAST to post your final grades, login to FlashLine from www.kent.edu (click FlashLine Login from top right menu bar) then click the Faculty & Advisor Tools tab. Locate the Faculty Toolbox and select Final under the Submit Grades heading.

Troubleshooting TIP: FlashFAST is accessible from any Internet-capable computer that has the cookies function enabled. We recommend that you clean out your cookie and cache files regularly to help your computer run faster, and to potentially restore and/or improve your access to FlashFAST and/or FlashLine by improving your connection to the server. Our Helpdesk is prepared to offer assistance with these issues. Please contact them at 330-672-HELP (4357) for one-on-one assistance and technical issues.