News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.
The Independence Day holiday will be observed for University of Portland employees on Thursday, July 4, according to the 2019 University holiday schedule. All University offices will be closed and classes will not be held.For more information, contact human resources at x8484 or hr@up.edu. Contact the provost’s office at x7105 or staten@up.edu for more information regarding classes.
Tuition remission requests for fall 2019 are due by Thursday, June 20, according to Laura Barnard, human resources. Please note, this date has been moved up to allow appropriate processing time by HR, financial aid, and student accounts. Forms can be found at the Human Resources Benefit Website. Remember, a tuition remission request form must be submitted every semester an employee or eligible dependent is intending to take courses. Please submit the requests by the following deadlines to avoid a late fee from student accounts:
Please note, there are separate forms for undergraduate and graduate course work. Keep in mind, graduate level tuition remission benefits will be taxable to the employee on the value above $5,250 for attempted credits and subject to applicable withholdings. When an eligible spouse receives graduate level tuition remission, the entire tuition remission amount is taxable to the employee and subject to applicable withholdings. This taxable benefit will be reflected on the employee’s W-2 form of the tax year the remission was applied. Details regarding the taxable benefit can also be found on the Human Resources Benefit Website.
A representative from TIAA, which administers the University’s retirement accounts, will be on campus for financial counseling sessions on May 28, 29, and 30, according to Laura Barnard, human resources. Appointments with Rebecca Rohleder (pictured) are available during work hours on those days in the Career Center in Orrico Hall. Schedule your appointment today at www.tiaa-cref.org/schedulenow or by calling TIAA at 877.842.2028 (press 5 to schedule an appointment). This will be the last TIAA campus visit until school resumes in September.
Please email benefits@up.edu with questions.
A representative from TIAA, which administers the University’s retirement accounts, will be on campus on March 26-28, according to Laura Barnard, human resources. Financial counseling appointments with Rebecca Rohleder (pictured) are available during work hours on those days in the Career Center in Orrico Hall. Schedule your appointment today at www.tiaa-cref.org/schedulenow or by calling TIAA at 877.842.2028 (press 5 to schedule an appointment).
Please email benefits@up.edu with questions.
Title IX Informational Session for faculty members will take place on Wednesday, February 13, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Theater. Sandy Chung (vice president for human resources and Title IX coordinator for compliance) and Matthew Rygg (associate vice president for student development and Title IX coordinator for education) will be present, as will Tom Greene, provost. Chung and Rygg will provide an overview of the work done this year by the Title IX team, and will respond to questions. Please submit questions in advance using this form.
The 2019 employee contribution limits to 403(b) accounts have been set by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Employees can contribute up to $19,000 to their 403(b) plans in the 2019 calendar year. For those age 50 and over, an additional “catch-up” amount of $6,000 is allowed by the IRS for a total maximum limit of $25,000. Those who wish to change their individual retirement contributions for 2019 can do so by filling out the Voluntary Retirement Contribution Form on the Human Resources Benefits website and email the completed form back to benefits@up.edu.
You can also sign up for a TIAA counseling session with Rebecca Rohleder, who will be on campus during work hours starting Tuesday, January 29 through Thursday, January 31, in the Career Center at Orrico Hall. Schedule an appointment today at www.tiaa-cref.org/schedulenow or by calling TIAA at 877-872-2028 (press 5 to schedule an appointment).
Staff awards for 2018 were presented at the annual Staff Christmas Luncheon on Monday, December 17. The winners are:
Employees were also honored for milestone years of service to the University:
For more information contact HR at hr@up.edu or x8981.
There will be a brown bag lunch session on Title IX open to all employees on Friday, January 11, from noon to 1 p.m., in the quiet side of Bauccio Commons, according to Meg Farra, human resources. Please come if you have questions or would like to learn more about the University’s efforts to address Title IX requirements.
Please RSVP to Farra at farra@up.edu.
With the start of 2019, employees are reminded to use the new Allegiance debit cards that should have been received in late December for all 2019 Flexible Spending Account expenditures. Flexible Spending Accounts are set up with Allegiance at this time. You can access your online profile with the following steps:
If you have any trouble accessing the account online, please email benefits@up.edu for assistance.
Please be aware that Discovery Benefits debit cards expired mid-December 2018 and therefore issued new cards around the same time the Allegiance cards were sent out. Please note, both cards have the same activation phone number on them and look identical until you peel the white activation label off the cards, you will see that one set is for Discovery Benefits (2018 provider) and one for Allegiance (2019 provider). The Discovery Benefits cards should no longer be used now that 2018 has passed.
Reimbursements and receipts for any 2018 expenditures will still need to be submitted to Discovery Benefits and not the new provider Allegiance. You have until March 30, 2019 to submit reimbursement requests for 2018 with Discovery Benefits.
As noted previously, any unused 2018 medical flex spending balances between $20 and $500 will rollover to Allegiance in late April, 2019, and will be available for 2019 expenditures at that time. You did not have to elect a 2019 Allegiance medical FSA account for the rollover to occur.
Also, copays for self-referral massages through Kaiser CHP Program are not eligible for medical Flexible Spending accounts. Only massages that are prescribed by a doctor for a diagnosed medical condition will be eligible for medical FSA expenditures in 2019.
You can find all forms needed for both vendors in PilotsUP here.
For more information contact human resources at hr@up.edu.
This year’s Staff Christmas Luncheon takes place on Monday, December 17. The social opens at 11:30 a.m., seating starts at 12:15 p.m., and the formal program begins at 12:45 p.m. This year’s luncheon will be held in the Beauchamp Recreation and Wellness Center.
This is the time to connect with old friends and new, enjoy a delicious holiday buffet, enter for a chance to win prizes, and celebrate achievements of your coworkers.
Again this year, there will be a slideshow during the event with photos of departments and staff. Please send any favorite photos you’d like to have included to santa@up.edu. Christmas-themed photos are especially welcome.
Please keep in mind that the Christmas party is for staff only; with continued growth as a community there is not sufficient room available for student employees or family members.
Please RSVP with regrets only to santa@up.edu.