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rhs.msu.edu
NEWSLINE
NEWSLINE, the monthly newsletter of the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services, features content of divisional interest contributed
by departmental and subject matter experts.
ISSUE 6.3 | MARCH | 2015
SIGN-UP DEADLINE IS
APPROACHING
The on-campus housing sign-up deadline is just weeks away, and there is still some work to do!
Currently, the division is more than 200 students away from the sign-up goal, so team members
across RHS are being called upon to help make up the deficit.
Many team members have been working diligently to spread information to students about
on-campus housing options and encouraging them to sign up for available space. Team
members are urged to continue talking to students about their housing plans for the
2015 – 16 academic year.
Here are five points to share with students when promoting the benefits of on-campus living
at MSU:
•Focus on Student Success: National studies show that students who live on campus earn
better grades. Emphasize the benefits of Neighborhood Engagement Centers that offer free
tutoring and academic advising just steps away from their on-campus home.
•A Commitment to Student Health: The Engagement Centers offer Live On and Be Fit classes
such as yoga, Zumba and more, so students can focus on fitness. There are also health
clinics in each Neighborhood so students don’t have to go too far for a checkup.
•Convenience: There’s nothing like rolling out of the bed minutes before class begins. Many
students don’t realize how much of a luxury it is until they have moved off campus.
•The Unlimited Dining Plan: Culinary Services takes care of the meals while students study,
hang out with friends or relax. Plus, when students are ready, they can practice their cooking
skills in the community kitchens.
•The Community: There is nothing like the MSU on-campus living community. Whether it’s
the events that foster new relationships, floor dinners or in-hall student groups, students
won’t find a community like this once they move off campus.
HOUSING COUNTS
Current House Count
• Total is 14,779 (14,491 in the halls and 288 in UV)
• Last year at this time the total was 14,839
Sign-up 2015 – 16
• Total is 5,625 (5,374 in the halls and 251 in UV)
• Last year at this time, the total was 5,837 (5,585 in the halls and 252 in UV)
NEWSLINE | rhs.msu.edu | my.rhs.msu.edu
UPCOMING EVENTS
MARCH
Celebrate State
March 17 – 19
Spring Festival, 4 – 7 p.m.
March 18
Spartan Spirit Shop Grad Fest,
MSU Union
March 19 – 21
Kellogg Center MSU Museum
Wine Tasting
March 20
Two-factor Authentication Site Lab,
3:30 – 5 p.m., 143 Brody Building
March 23
Two-factor Authentication Site Lab,
3 – 5 p.m., 141 Akers Hall
March 26
Forest Akers Spring Primer Program
Begins
March 28
Kellogg Center: Destination Auction
Behind the Masque, The School of
Hospitality Business
March 28
Continued on page 2
AROUND THE DIVISION
Continued from page 1
UPCOMING EVENTS
APRIL
Two-factor Authentication Site Lab,
8 a.m. – noon,
143 Brody Building
April 1
Two-factor Authentication Site Lab,
3 – 5 p.m., 337 Case Hall
April 3
Two-factor Authentication Site Lab,
3:30 – 5 p.m., RHS Information
Services Training Room
April 8
Spring Visiting Chef Series,
Cooking Demonstration, 7 p.m.
April 8
Spring Visiting Chef Series,
Dinner with the Chef, 7 p.m.
April 9
Feeding Great Minds:
StraightLine Presentation,
Noon – 1 p.m.
April 21
FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS CAN SELECT THEIR OWN
ROOM FOR 2015 – 16
As incoming students transition to life at MSU, RHS wants to help them choose the oncampus housing and dining options that are best for them and their lifestyle. So, for the first
time, new students have the opportunity to select their own Neighborhood, residence hall
and room.
First-year students (new and transfer) for the fall 2015 semester have the opportunity to
select their own room if they complete and sign their Housing Contract by March 31, 2015.
The Housing Assignments Office will assign students who complete the contract on or after
April 1 to a Neighborhood and room.
Students who meet the criteria to select their own room will be assigned a day and time
between April 6 and May 1, 2015, to log in and make their selection. All remaining students
will be assigned from May 2 – June 2, 2015. All assignments are final and cannot be
changed, with the exception of students admitted to a living-learning community who will be
reassigned by the Housing Assignments Office.
For students looking for a potential roommate, it is recommended they use the RoomSync
Facebook app to connect with other students at MSU and find a match. Students should be
directed to https://apps.facebook.com/roomsync/ to get started.
In early June, students will be able to log in to their iLiveOn accounts on
www.liveon.msu.edu and view their Neighborhood and room assignment.
The MSU Housing Contract is a legally binding document. Students may cancel within 14
days of signing the Housing Contract by logging in to iLiveOn. Students who have signed a
Housing Contract but do not enroll in MSU will be released from their contractual obligations.
REHS appreciates the support of RHS team members as the first-year housing process is
finalized and the division prepares to welcome new students to MSU!
SPECIAL HOUSING NEEDS —
SPARTAN VILLAGE REDEVELOPMENT
On March 5, Vennie Gore, vice president for Auxiliary Enterprises, met with team members
from across the division in a town-hall style meeting to provide updates on the emerging
details of the Spartan Village Redevelopment project. Now in the “design development”
phase, the architectural firms and project teams are beginning to concentrate on the interiors
of the buildings.
For more details and concept drawings of the development, please visit My.RHS and type the
phrase, “Spartan Village Redevelopment” in the Document Search section. Questions about
the project can be emailed to [email protected], or team members can call
517-884-6451 to ask an anonymous question.
NEWSLINE | rhs.msu.edu | my.rhs.msu.edu
ISSUE 6.3 | MARCH | 2015
CHEF ERIC BATTEN TAKES TOP HONORS AT
TASTE OF ELEGANCE
On Feb. 19, The Gallery at Snyder/Phillips Executive Chef Eric Batten earned top honors
at the 25th annual Taste of Elegance held by the Michigan Pork Producers Association at
the Lansing Center.
Chef Batten competed against chefs from across the state of Michigan. He prepared
a smoked pork belly dish with adobo sauce and avocado rillettes to earn the Chef par
Excellence award. Chef Batten won a trip to the Culinary Institute of America Greystone
in Napa, Calif.
“For the last nine years it has been my mission and my pleasure to share the story and
success of Culinary Services,” said Chef Batten. “It was a great honor to represent
Culinary Services and Michigan State and to lead with excellence.”
For more information on Chef Batten’s award and the Taste of Elegance, visit MyRHS.
CULINARY SERVICES FIVE-YEAR REVIEW UPDATE
Culinary Services (CS) is conducting a formal review as part of the RHS Five-Year
Review Process. This review process is an opportunity to examine the current
programming and services, validate strengths, identify opportunities and achieve
high-level performance results.
The CS Five-Year Review team has reached a milestone: The internal study of the
department has been completed and submitted to RHS leadership. The CS Five-Year
Review team would like to thank all CS team members for their assistance and input
for the internal report.
An external review team will visit CS in late April to conduct a NACUFS Professional
Standards Review. The external review team will submit a report in June 2015.
SPRING VISITING CHEF SERIES
The Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center will host Chef Ghyslain Maurais April 8 and 9
for the spring Visiting Chef Series. Born in Québec, Canada, Chef Maurais found his
culinary passion working in the culinary field to fund his architectural education.
He soon changed career paths and entered the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie
du Québec. Certified in French pastry, chocolate decor, candy making, blown/pulled
sugar and bread making, Maurais served as the head chef for the Canadian Delegations
in New York and London. He has experience as both a pastry and executive chef in
first class restaurants and hotels. In 1998, Maurais and his wife opened Ghyslain
Chocolatier in Union City, Ind. In 2011, he opened Ghyslain on Market, a bistro in
Louisville, Ky. Help spread the word and celebrate the love of fine food and chocolate by
sampling the culinary creations of Chef Maurais at the spring Visiting Chef Series event.
Photo: Chef Eric Batten
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
Keep up with the latest construction information by visiting construction.msu.edu. The site contains specific project information, detour maps,
Construction Junction meeting information and more. For additional construction updates, follow Infrastructure Planning and Facilities on Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube.
NEWSLINE | rhs.msu.edu | my.rhs.msu.edu
ISSUE 6.3 | MARCH | 2015
AROUND THE DIVISION
EBS TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION
An additional layer of protection will be added to MSU’s Enterprise Business
Systems (EBS) March 16 to April 13, 2015. Once completed, all MSU employees
will need a six-digit code in addition to their MSU NetID and password to log in to
EBS. All MSU employees are asked to register two or more credentials (office
phone, mobile app, etc.) with the two-factor system now through April 12.
Two-factor authentication will be activated on a rolling basis beginning with
employees who access EBS frequently (e.g., central office, IT and security
contacts) on March 16, and concluding with roles requiring less EBS usage
(employees with access limited to ESS, employee self-service) on April 13.
For the complete implementation timeline, visit secureit.msu.edu/two-factor/.
Once employees are registered and the system is fully implemented, users will
log in to EBS by entering their MSU NetID, password and a security code, which
will be sent to the user’s registered credential. This additional step is necessary
because passwords alone are no longer sufficient to protect human resources,
payroll and financial date.
RHS team members are urged to begin registering their credentials now. The
MSU IT Services website provides several resources to assist with registration,
including detailed instructions for each credential and a video tutorial.
Team members can also attend helpful “site labs,” which are open events for
employees to drop in, ask questions and have an instructor assist with the
registration process.
March 23, 3:30 – 5 p.m., 143 Brody Building
March 26, 3 – 5 p.m., 141 Akers Hall
April 1, 8 a.m. – noon, 143 Brody Building
April 3, 3 – 5 p.m., 337 Case Hall
April 8, 3:30 – 5 p.m., 153 Service Rd., RHS Information Services Training
Room
Visit secureit.msu.edu/two-factor for a complete list of site labs, a detailed
implementation timeline and more helpful information on two-factor
authentication.
ORGANIZATION OF INTEREST CODES –
HOUSEKEEPING UNDERWAY
Organizations of Interest (OOIs) are how MSU groups account numbers and
personnel for financial and record-keeping purposes. Over the past eight
years, RHS has undergone much change. As a result, the way the division
does business no longer aligns with how MSU has grouped these OOIs. In
order to ensure accounting, personnel and other records in EBS reflect current
operations, reorganization of these numbers is required.
A restructure of the OOI for a division of RHS’s size is a large undertaking.
To ease the transition and workload, the project has been separated into
manageable sections. The first section was the VPAE administrative, which
transitioned on March 9, 2015. A timeline has not yet been set for the remainder
of the project. Many thanks to the team for its hard work in cleaning up the
division’s system!
NEWSLINE | rhs.msu.edu | my.rhs.msu.edu
ISSUE 6.3 | MARCH | 2015
AROUND THE DIVISION
ADVANCING THE RHS WEB STRATEGY
RHS Information Services Project Manager Catherine Crane has been
steadily leading the charge to implement a new RHS Web Strategy. The
project team includes representatives from all RHS departments
including: brand and communication managers, Web developers,
writers, designers and executive leaders. The team has also partnered
with Usability/Accessibility Research and Consulting (UARC), an office
within MSU that specializes in how interaction can be most effective
for users of computer software, websites and devices.
Four main goals and objectives currently guide this project:
•Create a user experience that is intuitive, innovative, simple
and connected.
•Provide associated information to the MSU campus community and
MSU visitors.
•Better target and sell connected services.
•Build a sustainable process for maintaining and improving our
Web presence.
The Web Strategy project team has employed several creative methods
in the quest for the best possible RHS Web presence. It compared and
contrasted website features of other educational institutions and has
used carefully crafted personas to develop common customer and
guest profiles to identify how each persona might interact with Web
content. Recently, the team conducted an online “card sort” with
customers from different groups. Each volunteer participant was given
a set of cards that represented RHS Web content. They were then
asked to sort the cards into categories and give each category a title.
These efforts provide insight into customers’ perspectives and
perceptions and will ultimately inform how the RHS sites will be
designed and function.
ELEVATEU FEATURE: OPTIMIZING
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
In this month’s elevateU highlight, a series of courses under the
“Personal Effectiveness” and “Wellness” sections are featured.
Overview/Description: The “Wellness” series offers 15 different
courses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle not only at home but at work
as well. Some of these courses include information on:
•Nutrition
•Managing Change
•Stress Management
•Weight Control
•Low-back Care
•Blood Pressure Control
•Fitness
Users will need to login through EBS. Go to the Employee Self-Service
(ESS) tab, and click on Professional Development to locate the
elevateU link or access elevateU directly by visiting https://elevateu.
skillport.com/skillportfe/custom/login/elevateu/login.action.
For more information, please visit the elevateU information site at
http://professionaldevelopment.hr.msu.edu/elevateu.
WELCOME TO THE SPRING 2015
SERIES OF FEEDING GREAT MINDS,
THE RHS WAY!
During these lunchtime sessions, team members will learn about
personal and professional development topics. Each topic is
hosted by a guest speaker(s) and provides insight into bettering
divisional processes and making strides in personal and professional
development. Participants receive lunch from the division or are
welcome to bring their own.
This month will feature a speaker from StraightLine, an independent,
research-based investment advisory firm that has been approved by
MSU since 2008. StraightLine provides “do it for you” investment
account management for all MSU employees. They do not replace
current providers (TIAA-CREF and Fidelity) and are independent of
individuals’ current retirement account providers.
The presentation will provide insight on effective retirement account
management through their “7 Steps To A Healthy Retirement”
presentation. The presentation is helpful for all retirement plan
participants regardless of how close one is to retirement. The
discussion will also entail how StraightLine may be able to assist team
members with the management of MSU retirement account(s) in ways
current retirement account providers cannot.
This session is Tuesday, April 21 from noon to 1 p.m. in the RHS HR
Training Room, W9 Holmes Hall. The lunch menu will include salad,
pizza and breadsticks.
To register for this opportunity, please use the Learning Management
System (LMS):
• Log in to the LMS at www.msu.claritynet.com.
• Choose the “Catalog” tab.
• Click the “Show Only Events” option.
• Click “Register” for the course “Feeding Great Minds” (date of
choice). A pop-up message will immediately appear confirming
the registration.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Cathy Lugibihl, [email protected],
with any questions.
Target Audience: This series is for anyone seeking a healthier way of
living, learning and working.
Duration: Each course takes one hour, with 30 minutes to complete
the simulation.
NEWSLINE | rhs.msu.edu | my.rhs.msu.edu
ISSUE 6.3 | MARCH | 2015
AROUND THE DIVISION
SERVING FUTURE SPARTAN ATHLETES
YOUTH TENNIS WORKSHOP
Programming staff from RHS Information Services launched a new
and improved camper registration website for MSU Sports Camp,
http://www.sportcamps.msu.edu, which is operated by the MSU
Athletics Department. The redesigned site provides more flexibility
for parents, who may have children attending multiple camps. The
previous site was designed to register and pay for a single camper
attending one camp. Camp structures have changed, with some
sports offering several different sessions instead of a single weeklong
camp. The new registration system was designed based on customer
feedback and uses a shopping cart concept similar to e-commerce
sites so that multiple purchases can be made with a single payment.
The added convenience of a single payment has dramatically reduced
calls to the Sport Camps office. The new registration site went live on
Feb. 1, and registrations have been above average.
In late February, the MSU Tennis Center hosted a Coach Youth Tennis
Workshop. The workshop, which is sponsored by the United States
Tennis Association (USTA), is designed to equip coaches with the
skills necessary to engage and instruct children ages 10 and under.
The workshop was taught by a national faculty member from the
USTA, and participants actively engaged in learning and practicing
the coordination and skills needed to introduce kids to the game.
This teaching method has proven to be a successful way to engage
kids to have fun while learning tennis skills, instill a mindset of
“loving the game” and create tennis players for life.
The RHS IS programming team built the new site using Agile concepts.
The work was broken up into weeklong “sprints,” with a customer
review at the end of each week. This was successful because of the
willingness of the customer to be deeply involved in the construction
and testing of the new site and to be available to the team to answer
questions and provide feedback.
CELEBRATION TEAM AWARDS
Give your coworkers a chance to be honored by the Celebration
Team! Each month, the RHS Celebration Team reviews the
recognitions submitted on MyRHS and chooses a winner for its
monthly award — $100 and a fabulous party! Go to MyRHS or email
[email protected] to nominate your team members.
The RHS IS programming team will continue to use Agile methods on
future projects when appropriate. RHS IS student programmers played
a large role in building the site. Assignments like these provide valuable
real-work experience to students and lead to increased opportunities
for graduates from the team.
SHARE YOUR COMMENTS
HAVE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS
ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN
THE DIVISION?
VISIT THE WEB
• Log onto the divisional intranet, my.rhs.msu.edu, using your NetID and password and comment in the “Forums” section.
LEAVE A MESSAGE
• Call 517-884-6451 to leave your question as a voicemail for Strategic Implementation Officer, Jane Emery.
NEWSLINE | rhs.msu.edu | my.rhs.msu.edu
ISSUE 6.3 | MARCH | 2015