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Staff Performance Appraisal Process Begins

The performance appraisal process at Canisius College is designed to encourage open discussion between our managers and employees to review progress, establish priorities and discuss career development opportunities across the campus. In addition to helping plan for the development and progression of our talent pool, introducing regular communication with staff regarding performance management allows for planned, consistent conversations that will drive engagement, and convey a sincere interest in individual development and career planning.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SCHEDULE

The first step in the appraisal process is for employees to complete a self-assessment through Dynamic Forms. For your convenience, all staff will now have access to all prior performance appraisals in the portal under the Human Resources tab in “HR Appraisal History”.

All notifications will be generated through your Canisius E-mail account and will be sent directly from hr@canisius.edu. Please save any E-mails that you receive regarding your appraisal.

  • Employees will receive an E-mail invitation from hr@canisius.edu with a link to the Self-Assessment form on June 22nd.
  • Once the assessment is completed, the Supervisor will receive an E-mail notification advising them to move forward with the preparation of the performance appraisal.
  • Employees should complete the self-assessment by July 15.
  • Performance appraisal meetings should be scheduled between July 18 and August 12.
  • We encourage all Supervisors to pre-schedule your appraisal meetings in advance to assure completion by August 12.
  • Once completed, the Supervisor will then submit the appraisal.
  • The employee will receive a final E-mail to add comments and sign to acknowledge the appraisal was received and reviewed.

Training sessions will be scheduled to assist staff in completing the self-assessment. To assist Supervisors in completing performance appraisals, please note that Zoom training sessions will be scheduled. Watch for additional information including dates and times.

 Please contact Linda Walleshauser  at walleshl@canisius.edu or Ext. 2244 or Mary Braun at braun5@canisius.edu  or Ext. 2247 if you have any questions regarding the process.

Submitted by: Linda M. Walleshauser, associate vice president, Human Resources and Compliance

Sport Programs Move to Business School

The Richard J. Wehle School of Business is adding three new programs to its academic offerings beginning in fall 2022. The new academic programs being offered are: sport management (bachelor’s degree), sport administration (master’s degree) and sport product development (master’s degree).  Originally housed in the college’s School of Education and Human Services, all three academic programs consistently rank among the best in the nation and produce graduates who secure successful careers at the intercollegiate, amateur and professional sports levels, as well as in facility and event management. 

“We are excited to welcome new colleagues and the excellent programs they have built into the Wehle School of Business,” said Dean Denise M. Rotondo, PhD.  “There was already an existing connection between the business and sport programs, as we share many alumni, as well as a steadfast commitment to helping students launch rewarding careers.  But by moving the sport programs into the Business School, we now have a unique opportunity to partner on new and emerging fields in the sports business industry.”

Click here to read more.

Submitted by: College Communications

Summer Faculty Development Week

The Academic Affairs office is organizing a Summer Faculty Development Week for August 15-19. These will be hosted on-campus in Old Main. Each session will be approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes long.  Breakfast and Lunch will also be served all five days in the Faculty Lounge.  

Bookmark this page to stay tuned for more information and other events happening this week!

Submitted by: Tyler Kron-Piatek, academic technologist, COLI

D2L Updates Summer

Pronouns are now available in the Classlist

Image courtesy of D2L

You and your students can now add their pronouns to the Classlist. You will also be able to see their pronouns in their Student Card.

To add your pronouns, click on your icon (it likely has a picture of you) in the upper-right. Then choose Account Settings. The first thing you should see is a section titled “Pronouns”. You must first check the box to “Allow others to see my pronouns”. You can then choose the “Use different pronouns” and type in your pronouns.

Now, when you go to the classlist, you and your students will see your pronouns appear after your name in the Last Name, First Name column. If your students enter their pronouns, you will be able to see them as well.

You can also see a student’s pronouns when you hover over their image when grading a dropbox item, viewing a dicussion, or viewing their progress.

Check out this video to see how to set your preferred pronouns and places where the students’ (and your) pronouns will appear to the rest of the class.

Grade Exemptions

There may be times when you need to exempt a student or students from an assignment, within the grade book.  This means that assignment is not calculated as part of their grade.

The general process:

  1. Go to a grade item that you want to give an exemption on
  2. Find the student you want to give the exemption to and select the checkbox
  3. Select “Exempt” in the upper-left menu
  4. Save and close

D2L will automatically update the grade to a very noticeable grey box with the word “Exempt” and the student will also see “Exempt” on the grade as well. If it is set up properly, the final calculated grade will auto-update as well. It works in reverse, too. if you unexempt a student from a grade, D2L will remember that student’s grade and re-calculate everything.

If you prefer a text and image tutorial, click here. A video tutorial can be viewed here.

New Quiz Editor Screen

Image courtesy of D2L

The Quiz Editor Screen is being updated to be more in line with the Dropbox Editor Screen. View the D2L Article here on it. And here is the COLI tutorial giving a quick overview. This will potentially make making quizzes easier and faster since you don’t have to go through so many pages to change the settings. For now, this will be set to Opt-in. Note, however, that this new screen will become the default at some point in the future.

Quickly Copy Dropboxes

Images courtesy of D2L

If you have ever forgotten to copy a dropbox from a previous course or wanted to use a dropbox from a current course, now you can without having to manually redo it or use the Course Import/Export/Copy tool. Simply click on the dropdown arrow to the right of the dropbox you want to copy and choose “Copy to other courses”. Then find the course you want to copy to and follow the on-screen prompts.

Here is a quick video showing how to copy a dropbox from one course to another.

Rubric Status Now Prominently Displayed

Images courtesy of D2L

In the next update, rubrics will now have their status displayed prominently, making it easier to understand if you are using a published rubric or an archived rubric.

D2L Text Editor Bigger Buttons

Image courtesy of D2L

The D2L Text Editor will not have larger buttons. This will make it easier to see the options available to you and also make it less likely to accidentally click on the wrong option.

Updates to D2L Dropbox Error Messaging

Image courtesy of D2L

Have you ever had a student email you in a panic saying that D2L won’t let them upload to the Dropbox? D2L is now providing an improved error message which may help alleviate this issue. Now, whenever a student uploads a file with an invalid file name, they will get the above message.

For more D2L Tutorials, click here.

Hurley Appointed President Emeritus

The Canisius College Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a resolution appointing John J. Hurley as President Emeritus.

“This is an honorary title reserved for a president who is retiring and who has provided distinguished service to Canisius College,” said Martin Berardi, chair of the Board of Trustees.  Berardi praised President Hurley for his exceptional level of commitment to Canisius and for exemplifying the highest standards of personal and professional integrity, civic responsibility, vision and leadership.

As President Emeritus, Hurley may be called upon from time-to-time by incoming President Steve Stoute, or the Board to offer counsel or participate in special events.

Hurley, the 24th president of Canisius College, will retire at the end of the upcoming academic year after leading the college for 12 years.  He will remain in office until June 30, 2022.

Hurley is currently the longest tenured president among Western New York colleges and universities.  He joined Canisius in August 1997 as vice president for college relations and general counsel, after practicing law in Chicago and Buffalo for 16 years.  In 2009, the college’s Board of Trustees selected Hurley to succeed Rev. Vincent M. Cooke, SJ, and he became the college’s first lay president in July 2010.

Submitted by: College Communications