In this month's issue:

SPOTLIGHT
Employee Center
Alan Phillips Wins National Award

HUMAN RESOURCES
HR Training
UH Staff Scholarship
Benefits Summer Enrollment
Roth 403b Voluntary Retirement Option
Annual Performance Reviews

AROUND THE CAMPUS
2007 HUB Vendor Fair
University of Houston Bookstore
UH Summer Programs/Camps
HUB Program

If you have comments or would like to submit an article for the Spotlight, contact Sara Carter at scarter@uh.edu

Contents Edited by the Administration & Finance Customer Service Center

Click here for May Calendar

All staff members are invited to attend the upcoming workshops being offered by Human Resources.

May 1st – (9:30 – 12:00) – Managing Job Stress Effectively
Do you find yourself tensing up as the workday progresses? Does your head spin when you think of everything that you have to get done? Do you often feel overwhelmed and exasperated? If so, we’ve got the workshop for you! Not only will we talk about stress, we'll also try different relaxation techniques.

May 4th – (9:30 – 12:00) – Time Management, It’s About Time! (Part 2)
Increase your productivity by as much as 1 hour daily! This workshop is packed full of tips and techniques that you can apply immediately to your life. Using your own time audit and building on the information from Time Management, Part 1, you’ll learn strategies to manage time and paperwork that increase your productivity without working harder or longer. You will learn how to focus on high-payoff activities and eliminate time-wasting behavior and procrastination.
Please note that you are required to take the Essentials of Time Management (Part 1) before registering for Time Management Part 2.

May 7th – (9:30 – 12:00) – Outstanding Customer Service: A Choice
What do your customers really want? Quick response? Instant information? Friendly dialogue?
All the above, and more! Whether you are the person on the front line, or the one serving the front line, you touch customers. Everyone serving internal or external customers needs to master these fundamental skills. Participants will learn the customer service skills and techniques of effective communication as well as strategies for anticipating and satisfying the needs of their customers.

May 17th – (1:30 –4:30) – Dealing Effectively With Conflict
Learn to successfully resolve conflicts before they start to affect your productivity. This workshop is designed specifically to help you to expand your conflict management skills and understand your emotions and behaviors when dealing with conflict. Participants will learn to resolve work-related disputes and disagreements positively and proactively.

May 23rd – (9:30 -12:00) Essentials of Time Management (Part 1)
This highly interactive course will help you understand where all your time is going and why. You will learn how to eliminate interruptions and delegate low-priority tasks to others. Best of all, you will learn how to recognize and protect your high-value tasks and make sure they are done well and on time.

For further information, please call Althea Neilson, HR Training Specialist, at 3-5786.

Click here to register

Benefits Summer Enrollment
The Benefits office is pleased to announce that open enrollment for the summer will be July 23-August 17. During open enrollment faculty and staff can add or drop dependents, elect or increase life and disability coverage, and change dental plans.

Some changes will require proof of insurability. For this instance, faculty and staff must complete and submit a Health Assessment Questionnaire. To add or increase the following coverage, you must submit evidence of insurability: Long- & Short-Term Disability and Group Life & Dependent Life Insurance.

UH Staff Scholarship
When Paul Roch, a Department Business Administrator in the Provost’s Business Office, began his career at the university, he realized he longed for the days when he was a student. Luckily, this was just about the time the UH Staff Tuition Scholarship became a reality.

Paul returned to school in the fall of 2004 to complete his second Bachelor degree, this time in Economics, which had been his minor during his undergraduate days. By fall 2006, he completed the degree, giving much of the credit to the Staff Scholarship.

“I realized, I have an opportunity,” Paul said. “Why not go back to school?”

The Staff Tuition Scholarship Program is designed to support and encourage employee development through formal education, with a priority on the attainment of a baccalaureate degree and beyond at the University of Houston.

Applications for summer 2007 Staff Tuition Scholarships will be accepted from April 16th through May 16th.

Click here form more information about the UH Staff Tuition Scholarship

Roth 403b Voluntary Retirement Option
The University of Houston is pleased to announce the addition of the Roth 403b program to its current list of voluntary retirement options. The Roth 403b allows faculty and staff to defer some of their income on an after-tax basis allowing the earnings to grow tax free.

A Roth 403b plan offers more flexibility than a traditional Roth IRA. For example, the 2007 Roth 403b maximum deferral limit is $15,500 vs. $4,000 for the Roth IRA. And while the Roth 403b allows a $5,000 “catch up” provision for members over 50, a traditional Roth IRA limits you to $1,000. In addition, the Roth 403b provides loan provisions whereas a Roth IRA does not.

The University of Houston allows faculty and staff the option to participate in both a traditional 403b (pre-tax) and Roth 403b (post-tax). However, if members want to participate in both voluntary saving plans, the aggregate contribution may not exceed the maximum deferral limit for the year, which is currently $15,500.

Below you will find a helpful comparison chart of both the traditional 403b (pre-tax) and Roth 403b (post-tax).

Investment Example:
This is an example of how your voluntary retirement contributions can turn out to be tax savings in the end under both traditional and Roth 403b accounts.

*Based on a federal tax withholding rate of 15%. **Based on a contribution rate of $6,000 per year, and 6% annual return rate.

The person who contributes to a traditional 403b account saves $27,000 in taxes over 30 years, giving her $900 more per year in spendable income. However, at retirement, she will owe $71,152 on her retirement contributions and their earnings. This example assumes that someone will be in the same tax bracket (15%) at retirement and for every year during their working years. This may not be the case for you, and would thus alter the figures for your situation.

There are currently three financial providers that offer the Roth 403b to our faculty and staff, AIG, Fidelity, and ING. Please contact the carrier for an enrollment application and complete a salary reduction agreement form. You can enroll at anytime.

Annual Performance Reviews
We are nearing the close of the current annual staff performance review cycle. All regular staff employees, who have completed their initial probationary period of employment, should receive a formal performance review each year. Please continue to use the Performance Communication and Development (PCD) format. Forms, guidelines, and frequently asked questions are available here. FY07 PCD Checklists should be submitted to Human Resources after the Senior Reviewer completes the process. The FY07 Checklist due date has been extended to June 30, 2007.

Please remind supervisors of the importance of the annual staff performance review process. Each and every staff member is an integral component in the success of achieving the stated goals at the University of Houston. Staff members deliver success through their competencies: professional expertise, innovation, communication and cultural awareness. Continued success requires effective staff performance reviews that are interactive and that consider goals, initiatives, professional development, results, accountability and mutual respect.

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2007 HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) Vendor Fair
Attention Faculty and Staff! Come to the 2007 HUB Vendor Fair Wednesday, May 23, 2007 from 10:00am - 3:00pm in Farish Hall: Kiva Room (Rm. 101)

The University of Houston Bookstore would like to thank everyone for helping them obtain Spring 2007 textbook orders. They had a very successful buyback in December, mainly due to the faculty’s efforts to submit textbook orders.

By having 80% of the book orders before the last buyback period, the bookstore was able to give students $443,000 for their used textbooks. This was an amazing increase over last year and an outstanding achievement.

Looking forward to the Summer and Fall semesters, the bookstore once again asks you to help them achieve spectacular results. The bookstore’s goal is to pay $408,000 or more to UH students this coming buyback season!

Spring Textbook buyback is April 23, 2007 - May 10, 2007 (they have thus far received 36% of fall orders and 58% of summer orders).

Manual forms or email:
Pre-printed book order forms were delivered to departments February 19, 2007. If the same book is being used, simply sign the form and return it to your department, or send an email to tm510@bncollege.com indicating that you are using the same book as spring 07. Please include your course & section #s and estimated enrollment in the email.

On-line Orders:
You can also submit your order(s) online by logging in to or registering for your faculty account.

UH Summer Programs/Camps
There are a lot of great programs for children and teenagers this summer at the University of Houston. View links below to find information about some of our on-campus summer programs and camps.

http://www.uh.edu/recreation/youth/CampRec07.pdf
http://www.music.uh.edu/events/tmf.html
http://www.music.uh.edu/academics/pcs.html
http://www.music.uh.edu/cougarbandcamp/
www.egr.uh.edu/grade
http://www.hrm.uh.edu/cnhc/ShowContent.asp?c=10902
http://www.class.uh.edu/theatre/performances/ctf.html