The Campus CONNECTION

In this issue

Open Enrollment/Now You Know P.1

Now You Know P.2

Campus Life/New HiresP.2

Employee Corner P.3

Reminders & Updates P.4

REMINDERS & UPDATES

The Campus Connection Issue 3 April 2014

The Campus Connection Issue 6 July 2014

Now You Know

Traveling this Summer?

Don’t forget most of our plans have mobile apps that you can use to locate im-portant benefit information while traveling. Visit: http://www.tamus.edu/assets/files/benefits/pdf/ae/2012/apps/apps.pdf

Payflex Reimbursable

Expenses

Did you know you can claim the following on your Health Care spending ac-count?: Bandages, Sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, First Aid kits, Hand sanitizer Reading glasses, Blood pres-sure monitors.

Performance Evaluations

& TrainTraq Information

With the new online Employee Evaluations coming out this month, now is the time to be sure you are current with your TrainTraq assignments. Any outstanding, uncompleted coursework will be an evalu- ated portion of your perfor- mance. For the first time, the University is conducting online evaluations for staff. Faculty evaluations will be completed on paper. Although many aspects are evaluated as part of overall job perfor-mance, completing assign-ments in TrainTraq is very im-portant.

The Campus Connection Issue 6 July 2014

July is the month for Benefits Open En-

rollment!! This is the time for employ-

ees to review their benefits and make

any changes which will take affect Sep-

tember 1, 2014.

On Monday, July 14th, TAMUT will

hold their Annual Benefits Fair from

10am to 2pm on the 1st Floor of the UC

Building in the lounge area.

Over 20 vendors will be in attendance to

present information and conduct health

tests. Breakout sessions are scheduled

in the Texas Room. Adam Prewitt will

be discussing the Retirement Checklist,

Melanie Henry will go over TRS &

Benefits, and Gary Klein will present on

Social Security.

Also, Wadley Regional Medical Center

and Christus St. Michael’s Health Sys-

tem will be onsite providing health tests

including angioscans, PSA’s, blood

pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and

bone density tests.

This year, to get our employees inspired

to learn more about the benefits offered

to them, we are giving out five raffle

prizes in four separate drawings. The

drawings will be at 9:50am, 10:50am,

12:50pm, and 1:50pm.

The prizes include gift cards to Acade-

my Sports & Outdoors, Texas Road-

house, Total Nutrition, Holiday Springs

Waterpark, and the movies. Come on

out and try your luck! Pick up your free

raffle tickets at the Human Resources

table in the lounge area.

Remember that you only have until July

31st to make your benefit changes so

don’t delay!!

ANNUAL BENEFITS OPEN

ENROLLMENT

REMINDER—ANGIOSCANS

As a final reminder, Wadley Regional

Medical Center will be onsite July 14th

& 15th performing vascular screenings

for university employees (and spouses).

This test is a 10 minute, non-invasive

vascular screening which provides you

with immediate information about your

circulation and risk of heart disease and

stroke.

The cost for this service is $32.00. Pay-

ment can be made via credit/debit card

and cash. If you plan to use a credit/debit

card, please bring your driver’s license

for verification purposes.

Appointments are required to be made

no later than July 3rd, 2014 in order to

finalize the schedule prior to the date of

the event.

Please contact Melanie Henry at ext.

3113 or email melanie.henry@tamut.edu

to schedule your appointment. Attached

is additional information about the up-

coming screening.

***Reminder About Suggestion Box***

Staff Council would like to remind the

campus community about the Sugges-

tion Box that can be accessed online by

using the link http://tamut.edu/Staff-

Council/suggestion.html. Your sugges-

tions are welcomed by Staff Council

and they will be reviewed in a prompt

manner. As recent example, some-

one made an excellent suggestion to

display the large American Flag on the

side of the University Center in ob-

servance of Independence Day. Thanks

to this excellent suggestion, the flag will

be displayed in observance of the up-

coming holiday.

2014-15 Benefit Plan Update Some of the changes to the A&M Care plans for plan year 2014-2015 are listed

below:

Office visit copays will be included in the $5,000 out-of-pocket maximum. Al-

so, the coinsurance for the A&M Care Plan will change from 70%/30% to

80%/20%.

Although the total premium cost will increase this year, because of an increase

in the employer contribution, the out-of-pocket premium cost for full-time em-

ployees enrolled in the A&M Care Plans will increase or decrease only slightly

depending on the dependent category.

Part-time employees who receive only ½ the employer contribution will see a

premium increase in all tiers.

For active employees in the A&M Care plan, beginning September 2014, there

will be a $30 premium difference between those who have an annual wellness

exam and those who choose not to participate (some exceptions apply, see relat-

ed article below).

The Graduate Student Employee Plan premiums will increase as the plan is now

completely compliant with the Affordable Care Act. However, due to an increase

in the employer contribution, the out-of-pocket premium costs will decrease.

Plan design changes in the Graduate Student Employee Plan include:

an unlimited annual benefit maximum;

an increase in the out-of-pocket maximum from $5,000 to $6,350, which will

now include the deductible and all copayments;

an office visit will be a $35 copay with no 20% coinsurance;

an increase in the annual deductible from $300 to $350;

an emergency room copayment of $150;

an increase in drug copayments for retail brand name drugs from $25 to $30

for preferred and $35 to $40 for non-preferred. Generic drug copays will re-

main at $15.

Life Insurance Premiums Change

The premiums for Basic Life coverage - $7,500 of life insurance for most active

employees and retirees – will increase slightly due to a gradual increase in basic

life claims. As our employee & retiree population ages, the increase is needed to

cover claims paid. The Optional Life premiums for non-tobacco users will be de-

creasing due to positive plan experience over the past few years. However, due to

IRS regulations, the spread between the tobacco user and non-tobacco user premi-

ums will need to be increased, which will increase the premiums for tobacco us-

ers. The Dependent Life spouse premiums for Plan A will also change. Currently,

the plan’s premiums are based on the age of the employee rather than the spouse.

Coverage will now be based on your spouse’s age and whether your spouse is a

tobacco user. If your spouse is covered on your A&M System medical plan,

your spouse’s tobacco status has already been captured. If not, you must

provide this information, either through iBenefits or via your Personal Bene-

fit Summary letter (if you are retired). The default status is TOBACCO US-

ER. Dependent child premiums for Plan A and all dependent premiums for Plans

B and C will stay the same for the upcoming plan year.

CAMPUS LIFE Employee Corner

Kathleen Missildine

Associate Dean of STEM

Director of Nursing

Ashley Brown

Secretary II, CELA

Juanita Hughley Catalog Clerk

Library Services

Please join us in congratulating Vanessa Scurlock

for the May Employee of the Month!

“Over the past month, I have had several situations in which Vanessa

has assisted me. I voiced a problem relating to something in the sys-

tem. Vanessa was very courteous and excited to hear about the prob-

lem from a student’s perspective and she was eager to try to find a

way to make life easier for me as a student. Recently, I had trouble

enrolling in some classes. Vanessa reached out to me and offered to

enroll me in a class and said, “Okay, I will e-mail you when I’m

done.” With some people, that could mean by the end of the

day. Within just a few minutes, Vanessa took care of helping me

out. Vanessa’s willingness in wanting to assistance me encouraged

me to want to nominate her for Employee of the Month. It should be

noted that as long as I have been a student, Vanessa has been very

warm and she has gone out of her way to make my student experience

at TAMUT an enjoyable one.”

MAY EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

JULY BIRTHDAYS

Godpower Okereke

KaDeidre Bell-Rochelle

Rebecca Stone

Barbara Mackey

Patricia Humphrey

Darlene Edwards

Joni Millican

Aimee Mullins

Bill McHenry

Cynthia Henderson

Mallory Gaeth

Brandy Moore

Kaleigh Tibbit

Robert Hernandez

Jennifer Perez

Cathy Adams

Jackie Elder

Nikki Thomson

The Campus Connection Issue 6 July 2014

Freshmen SOAR Orientation Dates: July 17-18.

CELA Transfer SOAR Orientation Dates: July 15 or

August 5.

COB and STEM Transfer SOAR Orientation Dates: July 8 or August 12.

***Dr. Ells Awarded Fulbright Scholar Grant***

Congratulations go out to Associate Professor of Mass Communication Dr. Kevin

Ells for being awarded the Fulbright Scholar grant from the prestigious William

Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Dr. Ells will teach during the spring 2015

semester in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the largest country in the Caucasus region

of Eurasia, at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It is the only

country bordering both Russia and Iran. Over 90 percent of its citizens are Muslim

and speak Azerbaijani, a language related to Turkish. “This award is a tremendous

honor, but also a challenging responsibility,” said Dr. Ells. “While teaching un-

versity students overseas and looking into faculty and student exchange opportuni

ties for A&M-Texarkana, I’ll also be representing the United States to colleagues

and students in a pivotal area of the world.”

TAMUT Teacher Candidates Earn

Prestigious Recognition

Texas A&M University-Texarkana is pleased to recognize three education stu-

dents who have earned prestigious university and state recognition. Senior Skye

Proksch, a resident of Texarkana, TX. has received the honors of Education Stu-

dent of the Year and overall Academic Student of the Year. Skye will graduate

in December with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with Certifi-

cation in Early Childhood through 6th Grades. Skye’s awards represent her quali-

ty of work and seriousness towards her academic studies. Skye was nominated

by A&M-Texarkana Education faculty stating, “Skye has pursued her studies

with the heart of scholar and head of scientist.” Additionally, two students, Shel-

by Elliot, of Genoa, AR. and Trisha Whitfield, of Maud, TX. were nominated by A&M-Texarkana Education faculty and select-

ed to be recognized as Quest for Quality: Exceptional Teacher Candidates by the prestigious Center for Research, Evaluation &

Advancement of Teacher Education (CREATE). CREATE is a consortium of over forty institutions across the State of Tex-

as. Nominations were blind reviewed by experts in the consortium and evaluated on specific criteria. Both Shelby and Trisha

were nominated for their quality of academic work, participation as a future “Teacher Leader” within the university and their

courses, and overall professionalism with university and school partners. Dr. Glenda Ballard, A&M-Texarkana Dean of the Col-

lege of Education and Liberal Arts commends these students for their accomplishments ,“We are proud of these students and the

high standards they set as future professional educators,” said Dr. Ballard. We look forward to all three students serving students

of their own in the future that will well benefit our entire region.”

JULY BIRTHDAYS

Godpower Okereke KaDeidre Bell-Rochelle

Rebecca Stone

Barbara Mackey

Patricia Humphrey

Darlene Edwards

Joni Millican

Aimee Mullins

Bill McHenry

Cynthia Henderson

Mallory Gaeth

Brandy Moore

Kaleigh Tibbit

Robert Hernandez

Jennifer Perez

Cathy Adams

Jackie Elder

Nikki Thomson