Dear Colleagues,

The open enrollment period for Tuition Reimbursement (courses outside of UMW)  for courses starting January 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024, begins today, Monday, October 2, and will end on Monday, October 23, 2023. Please note: the Cabinet agreed to expand the Tuition Reimbursement Program to include certificate programs.  However, any and all courses associated with the certificate program must be credit-bearing.

The complete policy and procedures are posted online; some important and key provisions are listed below. You may contact Denise Frye at dfrye2@umw.edu with any questions.

Program Purpose:

Eligible employees enrolled in a degree seeking program or enrolled in a credit-bearing certificate program at other accredited institutions of higher education will be provided with tuition reimbursement up to a specified amount for courses after completion of the course and submission of proof of grade.

Eligibility:

This policy applies to classified, wage, administrative professional faculty, and other non-faculty part-time employees. Graduate Assistants who are required to be enrolled in UMW graduate programs are not eligible for this program. Eligible employees must be continuously employed by the University for a minimum of one year prior to their application for reimbursement and job performance must be satisfactory or at the “contributor” level.  Tuition up to the approved amount will be reimbursed upon receipt of proof of completion of approved courses.  Employees who receive tuition reimbursement must remain employed at the University of Mary Washington during the term of the courses taken and for one year after receipt of tuition reimbursement for those courses(s) or be subject to terms for repayment as described in the written agreement.

Important Information to Know:

• A Tuition Reimbursement Request form is required to be submitted to Human Resources during open enrollment for courses starting January 2024 through June 2024. The link to the form is below and forms may be scanned to jhudgins@umw.edu or delivered to Human Resources, attention Janet Hudgins.
• The Finance office will notify the employee the Tuition Reimbursement Request Form has been approved within 2 weeks of the enrollment timeframe closing and request the following:

           a) Proof of enrollment in a degree granting program

b) Schedule of the institution’s fees

c) Proof of payment

• The assistance awarded will then be reimbursed to the employee upon submission of evidence of course completion with a minimum grade of “C” or “PASS” if a Pass/Fail course.  Submission of grade must be within 30 days of semester end.  Reimbursement will be issued within 10 business days of grade submission to the Finance Office.

Thank you,

Denise M. Frye
Benefits Manager
Office of Human Resources

UMW Tree Festival
October 19th, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM | Jefferson Square
Join the Office of Sustainability on Jefferson Square, Thursday, Oct. 19th for UMW’s annual Tree Festival! Speak to local environmental organizations, student green clubs and climb UMW’s amazing trees! Interested in tabling during the event? Email sustainability@umw.edu.

UMW’s contractor for fire systems (Convergint) will be completing inspections and performing routine maintenance of the systems in all buildings on the Fredericksburg, Stafford and Dahlgren Campuses, starting this first week of October. The work is expected to continue through the end of November.

The starting schedule is posted online at https://students.umw.edu/safety/fire-safety-inspection/, and we’ll share updates there. Signs will be placed on the entrances of each building the night prior to the inspection and testing to indicate when the work will take place.

For academic and administrative buildings, work will occur in the early morning, prior to classes and business hours and will typically take place between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. You may hear one short ring of the alarm when the inspection is complete, as it is part of the required test.

In residence halls, work will take place after 9 a.m. and the contractor will be accompanied by a staff member. Again, you may hear one ring of the alarm as the test wraps up in a building.

If you have any questions, please contact Director of Emergency Management and Safety Brandy Ellard at bellard@umw.edu.

Campus Dining and the UMW Athletic Department are co-sponsoring Sodexo’s annual “Stop Hunger” food drive from October 23^rd – November 1^st. We hope to get a broad campus and community participation in this food drive, so that we can help our campus pantry, the Gwen Hale Resource Center, as well as the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank get the resources they need to feed hundreds experiencing food insecurity. Here are some items they like to keep in stock:

·         Mac n’ Cheese
·         Canned Fruit
·         Rice
·         Instant Potatoes
·         Canned Vegetables
·         Dehydrated Milk
·         Dry or Canned Beans
·         Canned Meat
·         Pasta & Sauce
·         Hot or Cold Cereals

Courtesy of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, there will be collection bins for each team and support staff group located on the main level of Goolrick Hall throughout these dates. Please consider helping out where you can!

The following message comes from the Department of Police and Public Safety:

Campus Community,

UMW’s Annual Security Report has been published for 2023 and is available online at  https://www.umw.edu/police/2023-annual-security-report/. Print copies can be obtained at the UMW Police Department in South Hall, or by calling 540-654-1025.

This annual report chronicles the previous three calendar years, with statistics for crimes that occurred on campus, in designated off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by the University of Mary Washington, and on public property within or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus. Also included are campus safety and security policy disclosures, programs in prevention, safety and security; sexual offenses or sexual misconduct; emergency response; and fire statistics for on-campus residential housing.

This report is published each year by October 1 to meet the reporting requirement of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act), as well as meet the requirements of the Higher Education Opportunity Act to publish an annual fire safety report.

We encourage members of the community to use this report as a guide and a reminder that individual responsibility matters. Thank you for your continued cooperation and collaboration to care for the safety and security of everyone.

If you have any questions regarding this year’s Annual Security Report, please contact Chief Michael Hall by email at mhall2@umw.edu.

Global Cafe 2023
October 3rd, 5:00 PM-8:00 PM | Top of the CRUC
The Center for International Education and University Dining invites you to join us at Global Cafe on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at the top of the CRUC from 5 – 8 PM. Come and taste foods from around the world! From 5 – 7 PM you will be able to visit information tables about study abroad opportunities at UMW and receive stamps on your “passport” to be entered into a raffle.

The 39th Annual Ghostwalk takes place Friday, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 28, from 5 to 10 p.m. James Monroe Museum, 908 Charles Street, Fredericksburg. Join the Historic Preservation Club for a hauntingly good time in downtown Fredericksburg for haunted ghost tours on October 27th and 29th! Tours leave from the James Monroe Museum every fifteen minutes from 5-10pm both nights.

Dear Colleagues,

In 2022, UMW first offered a Faculty Early Retirement Incentive Program (FERIP), and the decision has been made to offer the FERIP again in 2023.   Such plans are intended to be utilized strategically by the university, and are offered when business needs dictate and resources allow.  It is likely this will be the last offering for several years. The approval letter and the plan document are available for viewing.

The plan offers approved participants 100% of their final base salary, payable monthly over a two-year period. The application period will be open for 45 days beginning today, September 18, 2023 until November 2, 2023, with a required retirement date of June 1, 2024 (last day of work will be contract end date, May 15, 2024).

As we have shared previously, the requirements for this program are outlined in the Code of Virginia and the eligibility criteria include: tenured status; at least 60 years of age; employed full-time in a non-classified teaching position at UMW for at least 10 years, and agree to withdraw from active membership in the Virginia Retirement System.

Participation in the early retirement plan is entirely voluntary and eligible faculty must apply to participate. Applications will be assessed by a committee comprised of the Provost, Deans, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Diversity Officer and the Executive Director of Human Resources. Live virtual sessions with VRS and the Social Security Administration will be offered via Teams in October, session dates will be announced once finalized. Please visit the Human Resources website for important details about the program, the application and approval process, and to find other helpful information and resources.

Sincerely,

Craig Erwin, Vice President for Administration and Finance
Timothy M. O’Donnell, Provost
Beth Williams, Executive Director for Human Resources