WSU Today: Aug.13, 2018

 
Shocker Volleyball Dinner and Auction 2018

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Shocker volleyball dinner and auction

ͷ State volleyball will host its 10th annual Volleyball Dinner and Auction presented by Rotek Services on Saturday, Aug. 18. The dinner will start at 5:30 p.m. in the Aetna Multi-Purpose Facility.
 
Join 2017 National, Regional and Conference Coach of the Year  and the 2017 undefeated American Athletic Conference championship volleyball team for a night of food, volleyball and fun.
 
Individual tickets are $40 and can be purchased by calling the WSU ticket office at 978-FANS (3267). 

For more information or available sponsorship opportunities, contact  at 978-5549 or at slamb@goshockers.com.


Forward, Together

Forward Together 1, Aug. 13, 2018

WSU faculty and staff are invited to gather at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, in the Shirley Beggs Ballroom, to hear nine influential Shockers speak about where we are—and where we're headed—as we move Forward, Together. There'll be free gourmet food, a free custom WSU pint cup and drink voucher for all attendees—and wine, beer and special “Shocker-aide” punch (for those 21 or older).


Classroom Technology Training Schedule – Fall 2018

Campus Media Services Training Fall 2018

Classroom Technology Training Schedule – Fall 2018

Classrooms across campus are equipped with uniform technology and media equipment. Access is available to faculty and staff with consistent keys for most classrooms that are issued during a short training session. We encourage you to bring your personal laptop to test in the room during training. If there are additional needs or questions, call 978-3588.

Faculty are encouraged to verify that their assigned rooms have the technology they need prior to the start of the semester. For details, go to .


AG Derek Schmidt, Sunshine Coalition to offer free training on open government laws

Derek Schmidt

A free training session on Kansas open government laws will be offered from 9 a.m.-noon Thursday, Aug. 23, in the Marcus Welcome Center. The training was announced Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government.

“Open access to the functions of government is important to self-government,” Schmidt said. “As our office investigates complaints of violations of open government laws, most often we find the violations were inadvertent and can be avoided through better education. I encourage public officials, candidates for public office, staff, members of the media and the public to participate in these training sessions to learn more about how these laws work.”

The seminar is free and open to the public. Space is limited, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants can register on the Kansas Attorney General's website,  or call 785-296-2215.

The training about the Kansas Open Records Act and the Kansas Open Meetings Act will be conducted by attorneys in Schmidt's office who have experience in open government laws and who are charged by law with training and enforcement of them. Panelists will include Kansas Sunshine Coalition members, local government officials and media representatives.


Faculty and staff help needed with Back to School Bash

Back 2 School Bash 2018

Back to School Bash (B2SB) serves as a kick-off to the academic year with food, games and lots of prizes. For this event to run smoothly, dozens of faculty and staff are needed to check-in students, run activities and network. Last year's event had more than 1,200 students attend, and we hope you will consider volunteering. B2SB takes place from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, in the RSC east courtyard. Volunteers will receive the official B2SB shirt and have the opportunity to serve the entire time or in shifts.

Please also encourage your student organization members to attend. This is a great opportunity to recruit new members of their organization. They should bring small handouts and wear their organization's shirt if they have one.

If you have any questions, find out more about the event and register to volunteer.


Campaign gifts boost scholarship funds by 50 percent

Student Scholarships - WSU Foundation Aug. 2018

The Shock the World Campaign already is having a significant impact on scholarships awarded at ͷ, with total awards increasing by nearly 50 percent five years into the seven-year campaign.

That increase reflects just scholarships that were fully endowed in the past fve years. Many scholarship pledges are still being fulfilled and will begin producing awards once fully endowed, making an even greater impact.

In the coming academic year, endowed scholarships will produce awards totaling almost $3.4 million, an increase of $1.1 million over the $2.3 million produced in fiscal year 2013, the year before the campaign began. This represents an increase of 49.6 percent. In the past five years, the number of scholarships endowed by donors has increased to 866, from the 725 that existed when the campaign began.


Daily website update

The web support site has handled 243 support tickets to date with an average time to completion at 3 hours.

There are 3 open spaces in Wednesday's Next Level Training session. Use the training schedule button below to reserve a spot. CMS trainings and open labs are on the schedule through the end of August. 

Tip of the Day: Adding Page Descriptions

Back when we began our migration trainings in 2017, one of the components of our DT Migration sessions involved page descriptions. The old content management system did not allow for individual pages to carry specific Page Descriptions. That was a big problem, because Google and other search engines highly value these simple 144-character descriptions of the page content.

Page ParametersAt the time we asked that users build a two-column spreadsheet of their content with the page name in one column and page description in the other. If you've done so, getting your pages ready for Google should be as simple as copying and pasting.

If you don't already have this content developed, don't worry, it's easy to do. Concentrating first on your high-value pages, navigate to the Page Parameters in the Properties section and enter some text describing the content of the page. You can use an  to help you get in under the 144-character limit preferred by Google. This is also a great time to check to make sure the Page Title and Page Heading fields are filled out and accurate. When you're done,  save and publish the page.


Earn a certificate in Higher Education Leadership

Certificate in Higher Education Leadership

Did you know The Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership, Educational and School Psychology (CLES) offers a graduate certificate in Higher Education Leadership?

This 15-hour graduate certificate program is now eligible for employee tuition assistance. It enables working professionals in higher education to increase their skills, knowledge and abilities to compete for professional positions of increasing responsibility and scope. Completing the certificate also makes a student eligible to apply for the EdD in Educational Leadership.

For more information, go to and / or contact jody.fiorini@wichita.edu.


RSC begins fall semester hours

RSC

The Rhatigan Student Center and its departments begin full fall semester hours today (Monday, Aug. 13). For fall semester hours of operation, RSC fall hours.


Financial Aid: Did you know?

Financial Aid: Did you know?

Want to contact the financial aid office with questions?  We value the security and privacy of your financial aid information first and foremost.  We must verify your OneStop Access Code prior to sharing specific account details over the phone. This code is an eight-digit number and can be found in your MyWSU student portal under manage your password.


Shocker Store sales to start the semester

Shocker Store Sale Aug. 2018

The Shocker Store is having a sale to make sure you have everything you need for a successful school year! Through Friday, Aug. 31, take 10 percent off school and art supplies (excludes electronics) and 20 percent off back packs, in-store only. Have a great semester, Shockers!