eInside Briefs

Kent State University Summary of Board Actions for March 14

At its March 14 meeting, the Kent State University Board of Trustees took action on the following items:

Kent State to Add College in Growing Field of Podiatry

The Kent State University Board of Trustees established
the Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine
at its meeting on March 14. The action brings the university
closer to finalizing its friendly acquisition of the Ohio College
of Podiatric Medicine.

As the number of Americans who are diabetic and/or severely overweight increases, the demand for podiatrists will grow substantially, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To provide students with new career opportunities in podiatry and to ensure that Ohio’s need for podiatrists will be met in the decades to come, the Board established the Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine (KSUCPM). The action brings the university closer to finalizing its friendly acquisition of the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine (OCPM).

The OCPM Board is expected to act upon the acquisition later this month. Pending approval from the Ohio Board of Regents, the Higher Learning Commission and the Council on Podiatric Medicine, OCPM will be the only podiatric college associated with a state university. Only nine accredited colleges of podiatric medicine are in operation nationwide. The Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine, established in 1916, is one of the largest and most respected podiatric medical education institutions in the country, and the only accredited podiatry school in Ohio.

Kent State Takes Steps Toward Capital Improvements

To ensure Kent State’s ability to provide students now and in the future with a world-class education, the Kent State University Board of Trustees reauthorized the issuance of general receipts bonds to allow the university to finance the rehabilitation of aging buildings and new construction at its Kent Campus. “Kent State University feels intense pressure to attend to our infrastructure, which is essential to meeting the demand of our growing student population and to address the necessary safety needs of our Kent Campus,” says Kent State University President Lester A. Lefton.

Read more about the capital improvements.

Kent State to Help “Insure” Good Jobs for Grads with Insurance Studies Major

Knowing that insurance is one of Ohio’s major employers and is a field that is projected to grow, the Board created Northeast Ohio’s first bachelor’s degree in insurance, effective Fall Semester 2012.

The new degree program, which will be offered initially at Kent State University at Salem and administered through the university’s Regional College, will address all the needs of professional insurance practitioners. Students in the program will graduate with high-level communication, technical, leadership and project-management skills that allow them to secure good jobs in the insurance industry.

Tuition and Fees Set for Fall 2012

In response to Kent State University’s commitment to providing students with a high-caliber educational experience, and to continuing constraints in state funding for higher education, the Board approved a 3.5-percent increase in undergraduate and graduate tuition on the university’s eight campuses. The increase is in keeping with a state-mandated limit on undergraduate tuition increases for the 2012-13 academic year.

The Board also addressed a fee inequity in which students taking heavy course loads in a semester are charged a flat fee equal to 11 credit hours. The Board approved a phased-in, credit-hour charge for all Kent Campus students who take more than 16 credit hours per semester.

During the coming academic year, students will be charged the individual credit-hour fee for all enrolled hours above 17 credit hours. Starting in 2013-2014, students who enroll in more than 16 credit hours per semester will be charged the standard credit-hour rate for each additional hour.

Room and Board Rates Set for Fall 2012

The Board approved an overall 3.92 percent increase in the standard, undergraduate double-room and board rates, effective Fall Semester 2012. The increases will help offset rising costs for maintenance and repairs, utilities and food products. The increases will allow the university to continue operating its high-quality residence and dining programs on a self-sufficient basis while keeping room and board affordable for students and their families. The increases leave Kent State’s room and board rate in the middle of comparable residential universities.

Under the new rates, a standard double-occupancy room and a full meal plan will be $4,588 a semester, an increase of $173 from the current rate of $4,415. Similar increases were instituted for other residential options, which include single and quad rooms, on-campus apartments and four other board plans.

Click here to see the complete version of these and additional summary of board actions taken by the Kent State University Board of Trustees on March 14.

New Online Form for Undergraduates to Request a Degree/Major Change

The Office of the University Registrar and the Division of Information Services have created a new online process by which undergraduate students can submit a request for a change to their academic program of study. The new process will allow students to request the following changes:

• Change an existing degree program, major, minor or concentration
• Add or remove a second degree program
• Add a new major, minor or concentration to an existing program
• Remove a major, minor or concentration
• Update catalog year
  

After meeting with their academic advisor, students will be able to access the workflow through their FlashLine account. In the workflow, students will be able to select the change they wish to make and then submit the request for approval. The workflow will automatically route the request to the appropriate college or campus office for approval. If approval is given, then the request is routed to the Office of the University Registrar to have the change officially recorded, and students will be notified by email that the change has been made. If a request is denied or stopped for any reason, students will be notified of the reason why the request has not been approved. In such cases, students can take appropriate steps based on comments supplied by the reviewer of the request.

Students will be able to access the Undergraduate Change of Program workflow within the Student Tools and Courses tab of FlashLine, inside the Graduation Planning System (GPS) channel. Because a change to an academic program of study may impact progress toward degree completion, students are strongly encouraged to meet with their academic advisor before submitting any change through the workflow.

A series of videos has been produced to assist students by explaining the different types of changes that may be requested, as well as how to use the workflow to submit a request. Those videos will appear on the university’s Undergraduate Advising website, under the link for the Advising Self-Help Center. In addition, an FAQ is located on the website of the Office of the University Registrar, giving answers to some of the common questions that students have about changing their major.

Search for Undergraduate Student Trustee

An important search is underway that will result in the appointment of an undergraduate student trustee to the Kent State University Board of Trustees. Applications from interested students for this two-year term position are now being accepted by the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. Currently, Chelsea Knowles and Brady Ruffer are Kent State’s graduate and undergraduate student trustees respectively. Ruffer is completing his term of office this year and will serve as chair of the student trustee search committee, as required by university policy.

An overview of the student trustee position, including expectations, responsibilities and qualifications is available at www.kent.edu/emsa/students/student-trustee.cfm. The deadline for submitting nominations is Wednesday, March 28. Documents necessary for completing an applicant’s file are: an application form, résumé and three letters of recommendation – two from individuals affiliated with Kent State University and one from a personal source not affiliated with the university. Students may choose to include additional relevant information with their application.

Students may apply online for the position or by contacting the office located in Room 250 of the Kent Student Center. Complete applicant files will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 5. At the conclusion of the process, the names of five students will be forwarded to the governor’s office for final selection of the successful candidate.

The new term for the student trustee will begin on the date of appointment specified by the governor, and will end on May 16, 2014.

For more information, contact Pat Dennison at 330-672-4050 or pdenniso@kent.edu. 

Important Information Regarding Fall 2012 Priority Pre-Registration

Priority pre-registration for Fall Semester 2012 will begin on Monday, March 26. To determine your entry time, access the University Registrar's website at www.kent.edu/registrar. Click the Calendar link on the left side of the page, then find the section titled Priority Preregistration Entry Schedules by Term.

All fall 2012 registration transactions must be completed using FlashFAST. Log in to FlashLine and click on the Student Tools tab to access FlashFAST.

You may search for fall 2012 classes in FlashFAST or click the Schedule of Classes link on the left side of the University Registrar's website.

Legal Brief: Important Information About Minors at On-Campus Events

“Legal Briefs” appears in e-Inside monthly to keep faculty and staff informed of legal issues and their implications. An archive of past Legal Briefs is available online. If you have a topic for a future legal brief, send the information to the Office of the General Counsel at legal@kent.edu.

The Office of the General Counsel reminds anyone involved with on-campus programming where minors may be present that Ohio law requires certain professional personnel to report any incidents of actual or perceived child abuse.

As defined by law, a child is anyone under the age of 18. Under Ohio law an abused child is one who is the victim of sexual activity, is endangered, or exhibits evidence of any physical or mental injury or death.

If a university employee knows, or has reasonable cause to know, that an incident of child abuse has occurred on a Kent State campus, you are obligated by state law to immediately report the incident. Reports, which can be made anonymously, can be made by contacting one of the following:

• Kent State Police Department (330-672-3070)
• City of Kent Police Department (330-673-7732)
• Portage County Sheriff’s Office (330-678-7012)
• Kent State Anonymous Threatline (330-672-SAFE or www.kent.edu/threatline/index.cfm)
  

When making the report, be sure to provide as much information as possible, including the name and address of the child and his/her parents or custodial guardian (if you have that information); the child’s age and extent of injuries, abuse or neglect.

For information on how to recognize sexual assault and resources available to victims, visit the Sexual Assault Response Team website. Legal questions on this topic should be directed to the Office of General Counsel at 330-672-2982.

Entrepreneurial Ideas Come to Life in Business Concepts Competition

Kent State's Center for Entrepreneurship and Business
Innovations Entrepreneur-in-Residence Craig Zamary
poses with Chad Radke and Breana Jacobs, winners of
the "Taking the Idea to the Real” contest.

Finalists in the “Taking the Idea to the Real” contest, created by Kent State’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovations, were announced on March 6.

The fifth annual business concepts contest is designed to encourage students to brainstorm and receive real-world entrepreneurial experience.

“We want to encourage students to turn their business ideas into reality,” says Craig Zamary, entrepreneur-in-residence at Kent State’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovations. “Instead of merely thinking about their ideas, this competition allowed them to take a step further to start executing their plans.”

Students shared their business ideas with others by writing a short paper describing their business concepts. The best papers continued to the semi-final stage, where ideas were presented to entrepreneurs, who served as judges.

The top three winners of the competition received monetary awards – $1,500 to the first place winner, $750 to the second place winner and $500 for third place. 

The three finalists are: Surgical Mask, Chad Radke and Breana Jacobs; Woodwinds Galore, Natalie Groom; and the following two ideas tied for third place: KentLiving.com, Brandon Ritchey and Kris Kramer; and TouchFlux, Naser Madi.

“It was a surreal moment for the both of us,” Radke and Jacobs say. “It was the perfect reward for all the work we put into the competition.”

Radke and Jacobs will be competing in the regional competition at Hiram College on March 28.

“I was beyond impressed at how well every finalist presented their concept,” Zamary says. “There was a lot of energy in the room, and I am really proud of how well everyone did.”  

The contest was open to students of all majors.

For more information about the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovations and the competition, visit www.kent.edu/cebi or call 330-672-9430. 

Throw-N-Go Program Helps Portage Families and the Environment

Representatives from the Portage County Clothing Center
wheel in bins to collect donations for families in the community.

As students begin their spring vacation and eventually leave for the summer, Kent State University’s Throw-N-Go program provides a way for students to get rid of unwanted items while staying green and helping Portage county families.

Throw-N-Go, which started about 10 years ago, is a program in which collection bins are set inside of residence halls and academic buildings for students to donate items they do not want to Portage Family and Community Services.

“Instead of contributing to the landfill and waste, we are encouraging the reuse of these items that would normally be thrown out and it all goes to people who truly need them” says Matthew Musgrave, Black Squirrel Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary advisor and Throw-n-Go coordinator.

Musgrave says the goal this year is to collect 100,000 pounds of donated items, as opposed to the 97,800 pounds collected last year.

Throw-N-Go collection bins are placed during spring break, and the program begins the week when students return to the halls. It continues until a week after finals week. Three collection bins are set outside of residence halls, the Music and Speech building, the Student Recreation and Wellness Center and campus markets.

The three collection bins are labeled: non-perishable food, clothing and miscellaneous items. In the miscellaneous item bin, a variety of items can be donated including lamps, irons, bedding and more. There is also a space designated in each hall for items too large to fit in bins, like futons and rugs.

The collection bins are donated by Portage County Recycling, which will be donating 125 bins this year.
Once the collection bins are full, Family and Community Services Inc. picks up the items and donates the items to needy families, and the non-perishable food to Kent Social Services and the Center of Hope in Ravenna.

“We want to raise awareness that there are families in need in the Portage area,” Musgrave says. “When we think of people in poverty with no money for basic needs, such as food or clothes, we usually think of people in large cities, but to me, it actually hits very close to home.”

Program Manager of the County Clothing Center Candy Pollard says the Throw-N-Go program is a great source for them to increase donations to the people who are struggling to afford these items on their own.

“Throw-N-Go is great for all of our clients because they really can get great use out of these items.” says Pollard.

The program is a joint effort between the Kent State Sustainability Office, Family and Community Services Inc., Portage County Recycling and the Black Squirrel Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary.

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