Governor Beebe Authorizes Flex Employees' Hours June 6

Because of the traffic and parking congestion on campus caused by the annual Wal-Mart shareholders’ meeting, Governor Mike Beebe has given the University of Arkansas permission to flex employees’ hours the week of the meeting, allowing them to stay home on Friday, June 6, if that is workable for their departments

Employees would have to work the 40 hours in that week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday if they take Friday off. Alternatively, they could use annual leave or compensatory time off on Friday, June 6.

Departments may close entirely on Friday, June 6, if their closing would not have an undue impact on the public’s or the campus community’s access to essential University services.  Admissions, Human Resources and other areas that serve the public should stay open. In addition, areas that serve students and faculty during the academic session, such as the libraries and most academic departments and deans’ offices, should remain open. Areas that serve Wal-Mart associates and others on campus for the meeting, such as Housing and the Arkansas Union should be open.  Those areas that remain open may do so with reduced staff, to the extent feasible.

All areas are encouraged to allow their employees to flex their time during the week of the Wal-Mart meeting and be off Friday, June 6, to the extent that they can do so and still keep essential operations available.  However, it is the supervisor’s or department head’s responsibility to determine whether an individual employee’s request to take Friday off can be accommodated.

If you have questions about this special arrangement authorized by the Governor, please contact Beth Arbuthnot at betha@uark.edu or call Human Resources at 575-5351.

Bookstore Offering Signed Malcolm Gladwell Books

The University of Arkansas Trade Bookstore, located in the Arkansas Union, has signed copies of Malcolm Gladwells’ two New York Times best-sellers, Blink and the Tipping Point. Quantities are limited. Please call 575-3378 if you have any questions or would like to reserve a copy (to be picked up within a 24-hour period).

Suspicious E-Mail/Phishing Scam Making Computer Rounds

The Internal Revenue Service has issued several recent consumer warnings on the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scamsters trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information in order to steal their identity and assets. When identity theft takes place over the Internet, it is called phishing.

Suspicious e-Mail/Phishing

Phishing (as in “fishing for information” and “hooking” victims) is a scam where Internet fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity. Current scams include phony e-mails which claim to come from the IRS and which lure the victims into the scam by telling them that they are due a tax refund.

IR-2008-11, IRS Warns of New E-Mail and Telephone Scams Using the IRS Name; Advance Payment Scams Starting

IR-2007-183, IRS Warns of E-Mail Scam Soliciting Donations to California Wildfire Victims

IR-2007-148, IRS Warns of New E-mail Scam Offering Cash for Participation in “Member Satisfaction Survey”

IR-2007-109, IRS Warns Taxpayers of New E-mail Scams

IR-2007-75, IRS Warns of Phony e-Mails Claiming to Come from the IRS

IR-2006-116, Electronic Federal Tax Payment System Cited in New E-mail Scam  

IR-2006-104, IRS Renews E-mail Alert Following New Scams

IR-2006-49, IRS Establishes e-Mail Box for Taxpayers to Report Phony e-Mails

Sample of a suspicious/phishing e-mail

Is it a phishing Web site?

How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes

You Can Help Shut Down Phishing Schemes

The good news is that you can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized. If you receive a suspicious e-mail that claims to come from the IRS, you can relay that e-mail to a new IRS mailbox, phishing@irs.gov. Follow instructions in the link below for sending the bogus e-mail to ensure that it retains critical elements found in the original e-mail. The IRS can use the information, URLs and links in the suspicious e-mails you send to trace the hosting Web site and alert authorities to help shut down the fraudulent sites. Unfortunately, due to the expected volume, the IRS will not be able to acknowledge receipt or respond to you.

Nonresident student/employees that  responded with their personal information should contact Jonathan Nelson, nonresident taxation coordinator at the University of Arkansas, at nelsonj@uark.edu.

State Offers Teacher Education Loans and Grants

The Arkansas Department of Higher Education offers the following teacher education loans and grants. Visit http://www.adhe.edu/ for a complete list of eligibility requirements, teaching obligations and the most up-to-date information for each of the programs. For more information, call (501) 371-2000 or (800) 547-8839 or e-mail finaid@adhe.edu.

State Teacher Assistance Resource (STAR)

STAR provides forgivable loans to students seeking an initial teaching license who commit to teaching in designated subject and/or geographic shortage areas in Arkansas after completion of licensure requirements. STAR loans are $3,000 to $6,000 per academic year for a maximum of two to three years, depending on the length of the program. Recipients must teach in an Arkansas public school in a designated subject and/or geographic shortage area one year for each year of STAR funding received.

Applications accepted Feb. 1 to June 1, 2008.

STAR repayment grants may also be available. If funds are available, current teachers may receive assistance in repayment of federal student loans in the amount of $3,000 to $6,000 per year for a maximum of three years. Applicants must be licensed teachers who graduated from a teacher education program after April 1, 2004, and teach in an Arkansas public school in a designated subject and/or geographic shortage area. STAR forgivable loan recipients are not eligible to apply for a STAR repayment grant.

Applications accepted March 1 to May 1, 2008.

Minority Teacher Scholars Program (MTSP)

MTSP provides forgivable loans to undergraduate-level minority students seeking an initial teaching license. Recipients may receive MTSP for a maximum of four semesters or six trimesters. Recipients may receive $5,000 per academic year and must teach in an Arkansas public school for five years after completing teacher licensure requirements. The teaching obligation may be reduced to three years for designated subject and/or geographic shortage areas.

Applications accepted Feb. 1 to June 1, 2008.

Minority Masters Fellows (MMF)

MMF provides forgivable loans to graduate-level minority students. Recipients may receive a maximum of $7,500 and may enroll as either full-time or part-time students. Recipients must teach in an Arkansas public school or public institution of higher education for two years after completion of their master's program. This shall be in addition to any teaching obligation the recipient may have to fulfill based on receipt of other funds.

Applications accepted Feb. 1 to June 1, 2008.

Also, the following program administered by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is available to all minority students attending higher education institutions in Arkansas.

Arkansas Geographical Critical Needs Minority Scholarship

This scholarship provides financial assistance to minority students attending any public or private institution of higher education in Arkansas with an approved teacher education program. Recipients must teach in the Arkansas Delta region after completion of licensure program. For more information, contact the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff School of Education at (870) 575-8261.

Transit and Parking Service Information for Final Exams and Summer

Transit Service Information

During Spring Semester final exams, Razorback Transit will operate one bus daily on each regular route. Buses will run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., starting Saturday, May 3, through Friday, May 9, except Sunday.

Night service will end Thursday, May 1, and resume on Monday, August 25.

On Dead Day, Friday, May 2, Razorback Transit will operate one bus per route from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Razorback Transit will begin Reduced Service on Monday, May 12. Transit service will be provided from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, throughout the summer. Reduced service routes and schedules are available from the transit and parking department, the Hunt Hall and Administration Building lobbies, the Arkansas Union Information Desk, and the Transit and Parking Web site at http://parking.uark.edu/. Razorback Transit will resume full service on August.

Safe Ride

Safe Ride, which operates the Night Owl service, operated Mondays and Tuesdays from 10:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m., will not be in service on Monday, May 5 or Tuesday, May 6. Regular Safe Ride services from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday will operate through Saturday, May 10. Safe Ride will not operate during the summer. Safe Ride will resume the Night Owl service on Monday, August 25 and the regular Safe Ride services will resume Wednesday, August 27.

Parking Information

Parking regulations will be enforced during final exams. Lots 2 (between Plant Science and Memorial Hall), 4 (east of the Fine Arts Theatre), 7, 8 and 9 (north of the Home Economics and Agriculture Buildings) and 61 (around the McIlroy House) will be reserved on Saturday May 3, for Reserved and Faculty/Staff permit holders who will be working that day. Resident Reserved permit requirements will be enforced until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 9. After May 9, Resident Reserved lots, with the exception of lot 79 will be open for all permit types.

Mullins to Extend Hours for End of Semester/Finals

Mullins Library announces more extensions to regular hours of operation during the end of semester and final exam period. Saturday, April 26 Mullins will remain open until 9 p.m. Sunday, April 27 through Tuesday, April 29, the library will remain open until 1 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, April 30 and May 1, the library will be open until 2 a.m. Friday, May 2 the library will be open until 1 a.m.; Saturday, May 3, the library will be open until 11 p.m.; Sunday, May 4, the library will be open until 2 a.m.; and Monday and Tuesday, May 5 and May 6, the library will be open until 1 a.m. For more information on library hours and services, please check the library homepage at http://libinfo.uark.edu. Library hours can also be heard by dialing 575-4101. Please contact library departments and branch libraries for schedule variations and exceptions.

Is the University Open? How to Find Out During Inclement Weather

The University of Arkansas rarely cancels all classes and suspends business operations due to bad weather, but it does happen: 18 times in the past 100 years, as a matter of fact, and twice during the 2006-07 academic year.

Should inclement weather strike and impact the university's operating status, university relations staff will post a notice to the home page of the University of Arkansas Web site at http://www.uark.edu/ online. A message will be recorded for the university weather hotline, which can be reached at 575-7000; that message also will be sent out to on-campus voice mail.

In addition, northwest Arkansas and Little Rock television and radio stations will be notified. All of these notifications will be made between 5:30 and 6 a.m.

Ice and snow storms typically cause most of the disruptions to class schedules and business operations. When these storms hit the university, the administration's primary concern is for the safety of university staff, faculty and off-campus students who have to drive to campus. Administrators get an early morning assessment of road conditions, on- and off-campus, from the Arkansas State Police, AHTD, city of Fayetteville, Washington County Sheriff's Office and University Police, and parking and transit workers. Facilities management staff also report on sidewalk, parking lot and building conditions on campus. Administrators then decide whether to cancel classes and suspend business at the university for the day, delay the start of classes and other operations, or keep the university open on a normal schedule.

"The reality is that the university never fully closes," said Donald Pederson, vice chancellor for finance and administration. "We have several thousand students living on campus who require meals in the dining commons and comfortable residence halls, and many critical research activities that require constant attention regardless of conditions outside. As a result, it is critical that we maintain essential services affecting safety and health."

If students, faculty and staff don't see or hear from any of these sources that the university's operating status has been affected, they should assume it the university is open under normal operating conditions, and classes will be held as scheduled. There is no notification when the decision is made that the university will remain open and on a normal schedule. 

These same procedures apply when severe weather strikes in the middle of the day, and a decision is made to cancel classes and close normal business offices early before driving becomes too hazardous. Staff members from the office of university relations will send notices to the Web site home page, the weather hotline, individual voice mail and local media.

Even when the university remains operating under a normal schedule, faculty members have the option of canceling individual classes, and it is the faculty member's responsibility to notify students of any cancellations. Such weather contingencies should be addressed in each class syllabi.

Employees in essential services and operations are expected to report for work in most circumstances, and should contact their supervisor -- before severe winter weather strikes -- with any questions they may have about their status.

"Faculty, staff and students should use their own best judgment about their personal safety when considering traveling to and from campus during inclement weather," said Pederson. "As a people-intensive organization, safety must be our primary concern at all levels. Staff may use vacation time when weather conditions cause a concern for personal safety, and supervisors should do everything they can accommodate employees who wish to arrive late, leave early or propose some other productive alternative because of the weather. Likewise, faculty should address similar accommodations for students who encounter travel concerns in accordance with university policy, understanding that many of our students commute to the university from considerable distances."

The university's complete inclement weather policy can be found online at http://www.uark.edu/home/11272.php.

List of Building Executives Updated

Fayetteville Policy and Procedure 702.1, the Building Executives List, has been updated. The policy update reflects changes or additions of executives and alternates. This policy may be viewed at http://vcfa.uark.edu/Documents/7021List.pdf. The entire list of Fayetteville Policies and Procedures may be viewed at: http://vcfa.uark.edu/675.htm.

United Way Campaign Kick-Off Aug. 14

Transit and Parking has just received word the United Way Campaign Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14.  These guests will be parking in lot 44, north of Razorback Stadium, between 7:15 a.m. and 9 a.m.  Parking Control officers will be in lot 44 to direct anyone (guests and employees) who can not find a space in lot 44 to a parking lot where space is available.