Management Advisory Services Internal Control Education Session (09/28)

Campus community members are responsible for understanding and recognizing the benefits of internal controls. A two-hour session, appropriate for faculty and staff, will cover this information on Tuesday, September 28, at 10 a.m. in The Commons, Room 331. New employees are highly recommended to attend this session, and we encourage existing employees to attend and benefit from reviewing internal controls.

You can register for the session at http://asp1.umbc.edu/newmedia/oit/training/, or contact Sharon Doherty-Ritter at doherty@umbc.edu or ext. 5-1620 for additional information.

SkillSoft Topic of the Month: Techniques for Improved Time Management

If you don’t feel that you are the organized type, or if making lists or drawing up detailed plans doesn’t come naturally, don’t worry. There isn’t just one way in which time can be managed effectively. This course will introduce you to several different techniques for improving your time-management skills—experiment with them, and then choose and apply the tools which best suit your own situation. You will learn how to establish goals and then determine how to establish realistic deadlines, which will help you ward off stress and improve your job performance. Making “To-do” lists is a useful technique, and you will learn how to prioritize the tasks using the Priority Matrix. Other techniques will be introduced to help you regain control of your time and improve your effectiveness. The final lesson in this course will provide some suggestions as to how to maintain control of your time in the long run.

Visit www.umbc.edu/skillsoft for a SkillSoft Demo, FAQ’s, Quick Start Guide and the link to log in to SkillPort. This module is Course Number: pd_01_a02_bs_enus

To schedule a department presentation about SkillSoft, call ext. 5-6262 or e-mail hrtraining@umbc.edu.

CPR for the Healthcare Provider (10/6 and 11/17)

CPR for the Healthcare Provider will be sponsored by the Department of Emergency Health Services on the following dates:

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 – 5:30-10:00 pm

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 – 5:30-10:00 pm

Registration fee is $65 for the full provider course; $55 for the renewal course.

For further information, contact Danette McCoy at ext. 5-3584 or email danette@umbc.edu.

Exercising Influence: Building Relationships and Getting Results (11/18)

This program gives participants the skills to make a significant and immediate impact on their effectiveness in personal influence. Whether you are dealing with bosses, colleagues, staff members or senior management, winning respect for your ideas and cultivating influence and cooperation are essential to your success.

You will learn to focus on the key elements of influencing others without possessing organizationally-derived authority. Specifically, you will learn how to influence effectively with different personality styles, identify influence strategies which you use most frequently and those which you use less frequently, analyze the audience and the situation to select the most appropriate influencing strategy, keep influencing discussions focused on ideas rather than individuals and maximize your credibility by the ‘presence’ you project while influencing others.

The workshop will be Thursday, November 18, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., at UMBC Training Centers, South Campus, Room 3.014.

Register by November 10 at:   http://www.umbc.edu/training/community.

Get a flyer with details at:  http://www.umbc.edu/hr/T&OD/T&ODindex.html.

DoIT Extends Summer Blackboard 9.1 Drop in Sessions – Aug. & Sept.

Now that the upgrade to Blackboard 9.1 has been completed and summer faculty are using the new version, DoIT is offering additional drop-in sessions to assist and help prepare the rest of the campus for the fall semester.

For more information and to view the schedule, visit http://www.umbc.edu/blogs/oit-news/archives/2010/07/doit_extends_su.html .

Welcome and Orientation for New Part-time Faculty (8/25)

Orientation for new part-time faculty will be held Wednesday, August 25, 5:3o-8 p.m.,  in the University Center, Ballroom Lounge.  Refreshments will be offered at 5:30 p.m., and the program will begin at 6 p.m.

The Office of the Provost, the Office of Information Technology and the Faculty Development Center are sponsoring this information session to welcome new part-time faculty.  The program will cover such topics as computing resources (Blackboard and MyUMBC), administrative issues (campus ID card, parking), library resources (E-reserves, Library Instruction) and support for effective teaching. While this program is directed toward new part-time faculty, all faculty are invited to attend.

If you with to attend, contact Lynn Kennedy in the Faculty Development Center by Wednesday, August 18, at lykenned@umbc.edu or ext. 5-3916.

SkillSoft Topic of the Month: Generating Creative and Innovative Ideas: Enhancing Your Creativity

What makes a person creative? Do you consider yourself creative? Certain personal characteristics have been linked with creativity – for example, a willingness to take risks, the ability to connect diverse ideas and open-mindedness. And most important, perhaps, is believing that you are creative. Many people get stuck because they think “I’m not a creative person.” But everyone has creative potential. Understanding the characteristics you possess that boost your creativity and those that inhibit it can help you enhance your creative output in the workplace. This course explores the essential attributes of a creative person. It also describes barriers to creativity and how to overcome these. In addition, it demonstrates how you can enhance your creativity in the workplace.

Visit www.umbc.edu/skillsoft for a SkillSoft Demo, FAQs, Quick Start Guide and the link to log in to SkillPort.  This module is Course Number:  pd_09_a01_bs_enus.

To schedule a department presentation about SkillSoft, call ext. 5-6262 or e-mail hrtraining@umbc.edu.

Welcome to UMBC (10/5)

We invite all faculty and staff to join President Hrabowski in welcoming our new colleagues to the UMBC community. This fun event is a great opportunity to connect and get to know some of the remarkable people here at UMBC!  You will learn more about UMBC’s vision and values, some exciting things that are happening and how to create opportunities to make a difference in our community.

This event is co-sponsored by The Commons and Human Resources.  Hors d’oeuvres will be served.  Arrive at 3 p.m.

This event will be Tuesday, October 5, 3-5 p.m., in The Commons Skylight Room

Register by Monday, September 27, at: http://www.umbc.edu/training/community.

Get a flyer with details at:  http://www.umbc.edu/hr/T&OD/T&ODindex.html.

Navigating SkillSoft e-Learning (10/8)

Do you want to enhance your knowledge and skills but just can’t find the time?  SkillSoft e-Learning at UMBC provides faculty and staff online courses to enhance their professional and personal skills.  In this workshop you will learn how to navigate SkillSoft, search for courses, create a learning plan and practice running a course.

For a SkillSoft Demo, FAQs and a Quick Start Guide go to www.umbc.edu/skillsoft.

The workshop will be Friday, October 8, 10–11 a.m., in the Engineering Building, Room 025.

Register by September 30 at:   http://www.umbc.edu/training/community.

Get a flyer with details at:  http://www.umbc.edu/hr/T&OD/T&ODindex.html.

Managing Across: Having Accountability Conversations with Colleagues and Customers (10/22)

When you’re not holding co-workers and customers accountable, it costs you in terms of lost productivity, low morale and unresolved conflict.  When you do bring up challenging issues and resolve them thoroughly without getting angry or anxious, your stress decreases and productivity accelerates.

In this interactive workshop Suzanne Kryder helps you develop a confident communication style for setting healthy boundaries and being known as a team player.  You will learn how to work effectively with people with differing communication styles; identify negative judgments of colleagues that reduce your ability to completely resolve work issues; use a four-step formula for delivering and receiving behavioral feedback and making requests; disagree without being defensive, angry, or afraid; and facilitate a conversation to help two colleagues resolve a disagreement or conflict.

The workshop will be Friday, October 22, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., in the University Center, Room 312.

Register by October 14 at:   http://www.umbc.edu/training/community.

Get a flyer with details at:  http://www.umbc.edu/hr/T&OD/T&ODindex.html.