Paperless pay system in the works

By SUSAN WITTSTOCK, onCAMPUS staff

The era of paper pay stubs handed out by human resources professionals to each and every faculty, staff and student employee is drawing to a close. Ohio State has begun the process of converting to a paperless system for all paychecks. Pay stub information will be available via the Web and via the telephone through an interactive voice response system.

Ohio State is currently accepting bids for an outside vendor to provide the online and phone services. "We will have someone selected by early in 2004," said Karen Carroll, director of payroll for the Office of Human Resources. After a vendor is selected, it could take anywhere between six months to a year before implementation is completed at the university and Medical Center.

Under the new system, Carroll estimates that the number of employees using direct deposit will increase to 90 percent, up from the 67 percent of employees currently using that option. Accommodations will be made for faculty and staff who do not have bank accounts.

"The paperless system has a number of advantages, including reduced costs for the university, streamlined processes for human resources professionals, and easier access to information for employees," Carroll said.

Through a secure Web site, employees will be able to access a 12-month history of their pay stubs online at any time, as well as their annual pay summaries for the past three years, and can print copies. Through online direct deposit, employees also will have the option of depositing pay into multiple accounts, a choice not currently available.

Employees who do not have a bank will be issued a payroll card, which will function similarly to a debit card. They would be credited the amount of the paycheck each month and it would be impossible to overdraw. "This would also mean that unbanked employees will no longer need to pay check-cashing fees," Carroll said.

Paychecks for any employees who do not want to use a payroll card would be mailed to their home on pay day.

After initial start-up costs, the university is expected to save significantly as all costs associated with purchasing paper and printing will be eliminated. Savings also will be incurred by the amount of time saved when the tasks of sorting, managing and distributing checks are eliminated, as well as tasks related to reissuing lost or stolen checks or dealing with checks that were never picked up.

The new system also allows employees to enter changes in their own personal data as needed, such as a change in home address, which should reduce some of the data errors incurred when departments and OHR enter the information, Carroll said.

"We recognize that there are a number of people who do not have Web capabilities in their homes, but it is also true that more and more people have access to a computer now, even if they don't own one themselves," Carroll said. The interactive voice response system, accessible by telephone, will be available to everyone, and Carroll said her office will be prepared to provide additional assistance and training to those who need it.

She points to the success of making W-2 forms available online last year as a good indication of the working population of Ohio State's comfort with the Internet. "We expected to have 2,500 people sign up last year, and instead we had 6,000," she said. (For details, visit http://hr.osu.edu/payroll/taxw2online.htm.)

Courtesy of OSU South Centers The Endeavor Center, a business incubator and training center to be built at the OSU South Centers in Piketon, is expected to open in spring 2005.

Endeavor Center planned for OSU South Centers

Business incubator, training center to fuel local economy

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

A new business incubator and training facility to be built at the OSU South Centers in Piketon will help develop emerging businesses, create career alternatives for workers displaced by closing factories, and train teachers, business managers and health care professionals in the southern Ohio region.

Construction on the Endeavor Center will begin in December, and is expected to be completed by spring 2005. The $3.6 million facility has been funded by the Economic Development Administration (an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce), the Governor's Office of Appalachia, the Ohio Board of Regents and the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative, a community reuse organization serving Pike, Ross, Scioto and Jackson counties.

The 27,000 square-foot facility will house a learning center with a computer lab to assist with distance learning needs for the business community and office spaces and light manufacturing spaces for budding companies.

The business incubator will provide networking opportunities, flexible leasing space, business services ranging from copy machines to training, and a full-time staff person to mentor and coach tenants as well as bring together resources they may need, said Steve Shepherd, coordinator for the business incubator.

"Without a doubt, there is a huge demand for business incubation in this area," Shepherd said.

The new center is being developed through a collaboration among the OSU South Centers, OSU Extension, the Small Business Development Center serving south central Ohio, and community economic development organizations in the area. The collaboration has already forged significant networking and training opportunities in the region and identified emerging companies, said Tom Worley, operations coordinator for OSU South Centers.

"Now, with the business incubator we can go beyond the business plan and actually offer a location and support services for emerging businesses," Worley said, adding that Ohio State faculty, staff and technology experts will provide support services.

One of the purposes for the facility is to expand small business growth since more than 80 percent of all new small businesses fail. Incubators have had a remarkable influence on tenants and have achieved an 87 percent survival rate for small businesses that have used similar facilities and services, Worley said.

"The idea is for tenants to be here for two to four years and develop into a freestanding business out in the region, and then move out to make room for others," Worley said.

Educational opportunities

The new facility also will provide new classrooms and expanded computer labs for OSU's Learning Center South (LCS), currently housed in limited space at the OSU South Centers. The learning center's distance education resources make available faculty on any Ohio State campus.

"This allows us the beauty of having access to university faculty to connect with the diverse community needs," said Julia Keller, outreach and continuing education coordinator at LCS.

The upgraded facilities will help meet a growing demand for professional development and continuing education courses for teachers and health care workers, she said.

Housed under the umbrella of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, OSU South Centers was launched in 1991, and has both OSU Extension and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center components, Worley said. It was established to support the university's land-grant mission by enhancing southern Ohio by assisting people with informed decision-making through responsive research, education, entrepreneurial application and collaborative partnerships. The center integrates research and extension programs at its Piketon location and with county extension offices throughout southern Ohio.

For details on OSU South Centers, visit http://southcenters.osu.edu/. For details on the Endeavor Center, visit http://southcenters.osu.edu/bicenter/.

Photos by Jo McCulty Volunteers at the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center unload groceries from the Mid-Ohio FoodBank.

Caring for the community

Clintonville center offers cradle-to-grave services

By SUSAN WITTSTOCK, onCAMPUS staff

Whether it's giving a senior a ride to her doctor's appointment, ensuring that a family has enough food to get them through the month, or providing fourth-graders a place to go after school, the Clintonville‚Beechwold Community Resources Center (CRC) is working to meet its neighborhood's needs.

"A lot of people think of Clintonville as a wealthy neighborhood and assume that there wouldn't be much need for a settlement house here," said Executive Director Bill Owens. "But actually, there is a lot of need for assistance in this area. Clintonville has the highest percentage of Columbus seniors (15 percent) and we have a lot of rental properties."

The center is one of hundreds of nonprofit charities that Ohio State faculty, staff, students and retirees are being asked to donate to during the 2003 Community Charitable Drive. The drive continues through Dec. 5.

At the drive's midpoint on Nov. 5, 63.2 percent, or $537,299 of the $850,000 goal had been raised. (As of Nov. 13, the total raised had climbed to $621,312, or 73 percent of the goal.)

"I don't have to tell you how important these programs are to people in the community. The funds raised go directly to help our neighbors, colleagues and co-workers, and friends," said Michael Hogan, co-chair of the drive and executive dean of the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences. "How important it is for us who have the privilege to work at the university, surrounded by these young people, to set an example for them."

Ned Cullom, program manager for the Office of Human Resources, credited the Bucks for Charity's success thus far with the creative efforts of campaign coordinators throughout campus, who in addition to collecting pledge cards, have organized talent shows, pumpkin carving contests, rummage sales, online auctions and cookbook sales to augment donations to the drive.

A number of Ohio State faculty and staff, many from the College of Social Work, are volunteers at CRC, Owens said. University students have gained experience there through social work internships, and each fall, students work on a CRC-guided project for Community Commitment Day.

Arnold and Vernie Frigerie and Craig Morris are at work in the stock room.

On a recent Friday morning, volunteers were busy sorting through the 1,656 pounds of food they had just unloaded from a Mid-Ohio FoodBank truck. The food -- everything from yogurt to frozen pizza to cereal bars -- would be distributed throughout the week. The busiest time of year is Thanksgiving and Christmas, but on average, the center's food pantry provides nearly 2,000 pounds of food each week to area residents.

CRC's five full-time and 11 part-time staff members and more than 100 volunteers keep a wide range of cradle-to-grave programs and services running: vans that take seniors to the grocery store and medical appointments; a monthly senior breakfast club; repair and maintenance services for the homes of seniors and the disabled; nutritional lunches for kids in the summer; after-school activities and tutoring programs for latchkey kids; meeting space for not-for-profit groups; and the food pantry -- all offered at no charge to participants.

"We are primarily funded through United Way of Central Ohio," Owens said, with additional funds coming from a number of sources, including religious, corporate, governmental and individual donations. Because United Way of Central Ohio failed to reach its fund-raising goal last year, it was forced to cut the support it offers to all of its agencies by 4.5 percent. At CRC, that translated to a $6,000 reduction in its budget.

"As a smaller organization, you could say we're at an advantage. We weren't hit as bad by the 4.5 percent cut as those with higher budgets. And, we're able to be pretty flexible to ensure that we keep providing the services that match our mission," Owens said.

For more information about the Community Charitable Drive, call 292-0641 or contact your unit's coordinator.

Ten federations of charities are the designated recipients of funds: the Black United Fund of Ohio; Community Health Charities of Ohio; Earth Share of Ohio; Community Shares of Mid-Ohio; the United Negro College Fund; and United Way of Central Ohio, Delaware, Fairfield, Licking and Pickaway counties. Each group serves as an umbrella organization for several independent member agencies. United Way of Licking and Pickaway counties were added this year to the list of agencies.

next page...