Special Edition: September 5, 2008

• Small supply of garage parking permits is available
• Valero Way parking closes two weeks for repairs
• QEP committee hosts focus groups this month
• Register, update Reverse 911 contact info
• Sign up for discrimination prevention training class
• Conversation Partner program helps make UTSA a friendlier place

Small supply of garage parking permits is available

UTSA faculty and staff garage parking permits will be gone soon. Garage permits not sold to faculty or staff members by close-of-business Friday, Sept. 12 will be made available for student permit parking in the south parking garage at the 1604 Campus. The cost of a faculty/staff garage permit is $600 per year. Visit the south parking garage cashier's office or the Office of Parking and Transportation Services in the Physical Plant Building (if paying by payroll deduction) to trade in your surface parking permit for a faculty/staff garage permit -- and start parking now in any UTSA parking garage.

More information: 458-PARK (7275)

Valero Way parking closes two weeks for repairs

Beginning Sept. 10, the City of San Antonio will prohibit parking on Valero Way as preparation begins for laying new asphalt. During the project, vehicles parked along the roadway will be towed at the owners' expense. Limited traffic will be allowed on the road as construction work permits. The work is expected to last approximately two weeks. Valero Way is adjacent to Valero Energy Corp. and is on the east side of the UTSA 1604 Campus.

More information: 458-PARK (7275)

QEP committee hosts focus groups this month

Throughout the summer, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) pre-proposal finalists worked to develop their full proposals. QEP is part of the UTSA reaccreditation process. To ensure continuing university community engagement in developing the QEP proposals, a series of focus group meetings open to the UTSA community will be conducted Sept. 8-12 and Sept. 15-18 at the 1604 and Downtown campuses. At the meetings, representatives from each QEP finalist team will present overviews of the full proposals, and then attendees can provide suggestions for improvement.

View the focus group meeting schedule at the QEP Web site.

More information: Elaine Sanders, 458-6968 or Janice Kramer, 458-4314

Register, update Reverse 911 contact info

To receive emergency notifications via the Reverse 911 system, faculty and staff members must register. If an emergency arises, registrants will receive a message via personal telephone, text message and e-mail. When registered, faculty and staff members must verify each September their contact information in the system to ensure accuracy; students must verify the information each semester. UTSA supervisors are asked to print copies of the Reverse 911 registration forms for employees who do not have computer access.

For registration and information verification instructions, read more on UTSA Today.

More information: Office of Business Continuity and Emergency Management, 458-6756

Sign up for discrimination prevention training class

Help prevent discrimination at UTSA by taking a training class. There are classes geared for all UTSA employees. No matter what level of experience or knowledge you have in this field, the classes will provide key information in a dynamic and challenging format. Help make UTSA a safer, more respectful and more productive place for everyone to study and work.

Sign up for one of these classes via TXClass:

• Discrimination and Sexual Harassment: Your Role and Responsibilities as a UTSA Supervisor (SU317) -- choose one date: 9/9, 10/14, 11/6, 12/3
• Discrimination and Sexual Harassment: Your Role and Responsibilities as a UTSA Employee (SD309) -- choose one date: 9/18, 10/22, 11/13 or 12/10
• Diversity Awareness: M.E.E.T. on Common Ground (SD308) -- all UTSA employees welcome, choose one date: 9/11, 10/8 or 11/20

More information: 458-6641 or 458-4658

Conversation Partner program helps make UTSA a friendlier place

ESL (English As a Second Language) Services hosts the Conversation Partner program, which pairs native English speakers with international students to help students practice their English while also giving native speakers the opportunity to meet people from different parts of the world.

UTSA students, faculty and staff are invited to apply to be conversation partners. Partners are arranged for a semester and meet one hour per week at times and places of their convenience. Partners can choose to meet at a coffee shop, take a walk at a park or go to a movie. To sign up, download a form at the Conversation Partner Web site and return it to Multidisciplinary Studies Building Room 3.02.05, 1604 Campus, or fax it to 458-7679. Forms also are available at the program office.

More information: ESL Services, 458-7898

FY 2009 UTSA Holiday Schedule

Training and Development Classes

UTSA Handbook of Operating Procedures

UTSA Calendar

Payroll Calendar

@UTSA is published on the 15th and 30th each month. Occasionally, publication dates may vary in consideration of timely news items. E-mail news items to news@utsa.edu. Submit items at least seven business days before publication as a text message without attachments including contact name, e-mail and phone. Items may be edited for clarity and format.

Supervisors should print @UTSA for employees without e-mail access.

Read more at UTSA Today, the official UTSA news source.

Editor: Tim Brownlee, Assistant Director of Public Affairs