The retail industry has been hit hard by the global economic slowdown, and will be looking to the holiday season for a much needed boost.

Terry Clower, left, director of the Center for Economic Research and Development, says that retailers will be anxiously watching consumer behavior over the next few weeks for signs of willingness to spend during the holiday season.

Weighing on retailers’ minds are forecasts that predict Christmas shopping profits will be 3 percent lower than last year, poor consumer confidence because of high unemployment, and a continuing trend of households paying down debt instead of spending.

Retailers began earlier than usual to attract consumers. Holiday décor and sale items appeared on Halloween in many stores. And many have reached back to the 1950s and 1960s for promotions that attract cash-strapped shoppers. “Early promotions are now the norm,” says David Strutton, right, professor of marketing.

Sears, Kmart, T.J. Maxx and other retailers now offer layaway plans, which are being marketed as alternatives to credit cards. But Strutton called layaway plans promotional ploys “aimed at enticing generally less-well-off people to obtain ‘stuff’ they likely do not need at all, or, at best, need only marginally, by allowing them to postpone payment until later.”

“In fact, many such customers may postpone payment forever,” Strutton says. “Layaway policies prevailed in the ‘50s and ‘60s, but the cultural and societal norms of the time were able to accommodate these policies because in those times, consumers were far less willing to overextend themselves financially and far more predisposed to pay off debts. Today, these cultural norms no longer prevail to the degree they did then.”

“This holiday shopping season could shape up to be a game of ‘chicken’ between retailers and shoppers,” says Clower. “Shoppers are going to expect bigger discounts as the holidays get closer, but retailers are saying that there will not be huge discounts because they are carrying less inventory this year. It’s a matter of who will flinch first.”

Without some unexpectedly good news about jobs or income growth, Bah, humbug! may be retailers’ view of Christmas 2009, says Clower.

(Interviews by Alyssa Yancey, News Promotions, University Relations, Communications and Marketing. Photo, the ghost of Jacob Marley, right, visits Ebeneezer Scrooge, in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, courtesy of The Gutenberg Project.)

Code of Student Conduct revised
The Code of Student Conduct, effective this fall, was revised to be more student friendly, applicable to UNT and less legalistic. It was rewritten to contain less legal jargon and has a more positive educational focus. The code was separated from academic integrity and includes a definition section. The revised code does a better job of describing the allegations of misconduct, sanctions, processes and procedures for students.

“Universities and the professional association of ASCA (formerly ASJA) Association for Student Conduct Administration are moving away from the legal or judicial aspect of university discipline to address the conduct of students,” says Maureen McGuinness, left, assistant vice president for Student Development. “Our focus is to be educational, not punitive.”

The new code of conduct was written by a committee, chaired by Renee Hebert, director of the Professional Leadership Program, representing many different areas of the university including: academics; information technology; student development; general counsel; university police; student government; and student representatives. The Model Code of Student Conduct by Edward Stoner was used by the committee to understand how a Code of Conduct needs to be written when addressing issues involving college students.

McGuinness says, “Our new conduct process will hopefully help alleviate some of the anxiety a student may experience and help them understand the university has a responsibility to address student behavior, but the ultimate goal is to educate our students.”

The Code of Student Conduct is upheld by the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities. Faculty and staff can help inform students of the code by including the CSRR web site in their syllabi or referring students to the CSRR when appropriate.

New Academic Integrity policy
A new Student Standards of Academic Integrity policy was written to update and replace the previous academic dishonesty provisions of the Student Code of Conduct. Two overarching goals of the policy are to emphasize the importance of academic integrity among students and to place oversight responsibilities for student academic integrity issues in the academic branch of the university.

Issues of academic importance should be decided by faculty and the university’s academic authorities. The policy places responsibility over academic integrity on the shoulders of the faculty, department chairs, deans and the chief academic officer.

"Faculty should know their responsibilities under the new policy, including the responsibility to allow alleged policy offenders to remain in class until their cases are adjudicated and all appeal rights exhausted," says Bill McKee, right, academic integrity officer.

It was a collaborative effort of the Faculty Senate and the Provost’s Office. The Faculty Senate convened an ad hoc committee consisting of faculty, students and staff. The committee looked at numerous policies at universities across the country in an attempt to identify best practices that made sense for UNT.

There is an increased emphasis on academic integrity that will be promoted through training and other means for students and faculty. Under the policy, the faculty has primary authority over grades, with appeals of grade penalties going to the heads of academic departments. For major violations of the policy, the academic integrity officer has the authority to place students on probation, suspension and expulsion with appeals to the Academic Integrity Panel.

Academic honesty at UNT is taken seriously. An Academic Integrity Database was established that contains disciplinary outcomes and related records of students found in violation of the Student Standards of Academic Integrity, plus a history of involvement in training. Repeat offenders are handled accordingly.

Over the next two to three months, desktop computing support groups within administrative (non-academic) divisions on the UNT campus will be merged into a single group that will report to the Vice President for Information Technology and CIO.

The consolidation of groups currently supporting desktops and servers in the administration offices (ABN), Student Development, Facilities, Fiscal Office, Business Services, Computer Information and Technology Center, and the Microcomputer Maintenance Shop will improve both staff and hardware utilization throughout those offices. Two different consulting groups have recommended such a change over the past three years and the consolidation represents best IT practices among national public universities.

The objectives of this merger are:
• Enhanced service. Although the current support staffs in the distributed units are doing a fine job of supporting their users, better services to users can be achieved by:
- increased efficiencies in operations achieved by close attention to service-level agreements and metrics that demonstrate the achievement of service objectives
- better utilization of support staff through geographical disbursement and specialization (e.g., dedicating staff to particular buildings on campus that are in proximity to each other or assigning Apple-savvy technicians to service Macintosh users)
- more efficient management of the servers, storage devices, and backup devices, which will be virtualized in a centrally-supported data center and free up technicians to work on desktop support.

Congratulations to this week’s randomly selected winners who responded to last week’s InHouse prize giveaways.

• Mary Taylor, student assistant
• Lora Connaughton, customer service estimator , Printing Services
• Amy Gray, administrative assistant III, New Student & Student Success Programs
• John L. Baier, professor of higher education , Counseling and Higher Education
• Ginny Richards, team leader, Computing and Information Technology Center
• Marilyn Wiley, senior associate dean and professor, College of Business
• Larry S. Talley, untranet/share point, Computing and Information Technology Center
• Kathryn McCauley, lawyer/director, UNT Student Legal Services
• Marjorie Hayes, professor, Dance and Theatre
• Debra Khoury, accountant, Purchasing and Payment Services
• Pamela Milner, senior academic counselor, College of Business
• Denise Jeppson, academic advisor, College of Education
• Joyce Bellar, assistant director, Payment Services

Winners are randomly chosen from all responses. Prizes include UNT T-shirt gift packs and free tickets to concerts, sports and other campus activities that are generously provided by event sponsors and departments.

InHouse is the electronic newsletter that is always online and is regularly updated with news about events and strategic activities at UNT. The formatted version is emailed to faculty and staff each week, usually on Wednesdays. Click on headlines, which link to continuously updated postings, to find the complete article and its links to related information. Find occasional updates at www.twitter.com/InHouseUNT.

Nov. 17, 2009

Dear UNT staff member,

This year, UNT is off to an incredible start. You may have heard that we recently made U.S. News & World Report’s “Top Up-and-Coming Schools” list, tying for ninth among public universities. We made this list, in part, because of our innovative changes across campus and our staff’s excellence.

Each of you played an important role in helping UNT earn this recognition. You are on the front lines, embodying our student-centered creed through your actions and making sure our students have the tools they need to succeed in college and in life. I am proud of the work you do and the knowledge and commitment you bring to UNT as a member of our university family.

With so many changes and advances taking place across campus, it is more important than ever to be mindful of our professional ethic and legal responsibilities. Every UNT staff member — regardless of job title, assignment, length of service, or sphere of influence — must adhere to and comply with applicable laws and policies set by UNT, its Board of Regents and the State of Texas.

Attached are standards of conduct guidelines. These guidelines do not replace any written policies or laws, however, they will serve as a point of reference for workplace conduct and expectations; make you aware of rules regarding such issues as conflict of interest, research and gifts; and help you find an applicable policy or appropriate point of contact for issues that arise.

Please take the time to review the guidelines and keep them on hand for future reference. If you have specific questions, I encourage you to speak with your supervisor or with the points-of-contacts in the offices and agencies listed below.

With green pride,
Gretchen M. Bataille
President

Some portions of EIS, the university's Enterprise Information System, are being upgraded beginning at 5 p.m. on Nov. 20 and several services will be unavailable until Nov. 23. The myUNT portal (my.unt.edu) and the EIS Campus Solutions (myls.unt.edu) websites are affected by the upgrade.

Business processes accessed through these administrative applications will be out of service during this upgrade period. The myls.unt.edu website provides administrative functions in support of student administration, human resources, payroll, and advancement. The myUNT portal provides self-service capabilities for students, faculty and staff.

Services independent of myUNT, such as UNT eCampus, EagleConnect, EIS Financials (myfs.unt.edu), www.unt.edu, and Outlook webmail are not affected by the outage and will continue to be in service.

The shutdown of these services is required to complete the upgrade tasks and restore services by Monday. Many employees in the Computing and Information Technology Center, Student Services, Finance and Administration, and Advancement at UNT as well as their counterparts at UNTHSC will be working throughout the period to complete the upgrade.

We realize the shutdown of these services is an inconvenience and has some impact on UNT’s operations and we appreciate your understanding and flexibility while we improve the services to the campus.

For more information regarding the upgrade project, you may contact Cathy Gonzalez at cathy.gonzalez@unt.edu.

Maurice Leatherbury
Acting Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Leatherbury@unt.edu
940-565-3854

Why cook when you can let UNT Dining Services do the hard work for you?

Every Thanksgiving, you may order a delicious meal cooked by dining services to enjoy in the comfort of your home.

Dinner packages serve eight to 10 people and include a choice of turkey or ham with all the trimmings for $59.95. A la carte items also are available.

Orders must be placed no later than noon Nov. 20. Pick up meals at Avesta, University Union, Level 2, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 24 or from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Nov. 25.

Contact Scheduling Services to place an order; 940-565-3804.

Avesta has generously donated six pies for InHouse readers. Enter to win a Thanksgiving pie by sending an e-mail to inhouse@unt.edu by 5 p.m. Nov. 13 with “Pie” in the subject line. Winners will be selected at random from all responses. Winners will receive a certificate that must be redeemed at Avesta on Nov. 23-25.

Dinner packages for $59.95 (serves 8-10 people) include:

• Herb roasted turkey breast – five pounds boneless, fully cooked and sliced- $25.95 a la carte
• Baked ham with brown sugar mandarin orange glaze- five pounds boneless cure 81 ham, fully cooked and sliced - $25.95 a la carte
• Roasted garlic and rosemary whipped potatoes - $9.95 a la carte
• Cornbread and chorizo stuffing - $9.95 a la carte
• Southern green beans with bacon - $9.95 a la carte
• Brown gravy - $2.95 a la carte
• Fresh cranberry relish with cinnamon and clove - $3.95 a la carte
•  Assorted roles - $2.95 a la carte
• Pumpkin, pecan, or apple pie (choice of one pie) - $9.95 a la carte

Heating instructions are included.

(Photo, Thanksgiving meal circa 1940, courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

We'll celebrate Veterans Day on Nov. 11 to honor the service and commitment of the United States military forces. How many UNT students received veteran educational benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs last year?

A. 350
B. Nearly 500
C. Nearly 700
D. 410

The correct answer is C. Nearly 700 UNT students received veteran educational benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs last year. These men and women are among many former members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are pursuing a college education after military service.

To win a free UNT T-shirt gift pack, send an e-mail with the word “Veterans” in the subject line to inhouse@unt.edu by 5 p.m. Nov. 13. The winner will be selected at random from all e-mails received.

There are a variety of benefits available to veterans. One of the most recent is the Post-9/11 GI Bill, approved by Congress in 2008. This bill provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after Sept. 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. The original GI Bill was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 to assist veterans and to help the United States recover from both the Great Depression and World War II.

In August, the UNT Veterans Center opened in the University Union, Suite 320, to help today’s student veterans navigate the university resources. Programs are designed with consideration to the particular needs and interests of student veterans and their transition from service to college. The Veterans Center welcomes faculty and staff veterans who would like to offer assistance to student veterans.

Oh, and what is a GI? The letters generally mean government issue, a phrase made popular in the 1940s, when about 16 million Americans fought in World War II. The phrase also is thought to mean galvanized iron, referring to both the makeup of equipment and to service members. Either one is OK with InHouse, which is thankful for their service. 

(Posters courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution)

 

All UNT, UNT Dallas Campus and UNT System faculty and staff members are invited to attend an important briefing about the various economic factors that impacted the performance of investments during the third quarter of this year. Learn how you might apply that information in the selection of investments in your personal retirement savings plan.

The briefing will include information about:
• forces driving recent developments in financial markets and the U.S. economy
• factors affecting the performance of domestic and international equity markets
• changes driving bond-market interest rates and valuations 

The briefing will be from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Eagle Student Services Center, Room 255

The seminar is sponsored by Human Resources and will be conducted by Fidelity. Registration for the seminar can be made at 800-642-7131 or online at www.fidelity.com/atwork/reservations.

Congratulations to this week’s randomly selected winners who responded to last week’s InHouse prize giveaways.

• Inez Loche, administrative coordinator, College of Business
• Elizabeth Dracobly, administrative coordinator, Gateway Center
• Julie Howell, associate director, Financial Reporting
• Susan Sullivan, director of alumni operations, UNT Alumni Association
• Diane Charles, financial aid counselor assistant, Financial Aid

Winners are randomly chosen from all responses. Prizes include UNT T-shirt gift packs and free tickets to concerts, sports and other campus activities that are generously provided by event sponsors and departments.

InHouse is the electronic newsletter that is always online and is regularly updated with news about events and strategic activities at UNT. The formatted version is emailed to faculty and staff each week, usually on Wednesdays. Click on headlines, which link to continuously updated postings, to find the complete article and its links to related information.  Follow InHouse reminders at www.twitter.com/InHouseUNT.

The university founded the Immigrant Research and Policy Center, an interdisciplinary program with faculty from the colleges of arts and sciences,  business, education, public affairs and community service and visual arts and design. 

Faculty will participate in an effort to encourage interdisciplinary work in immigrant-related research. Since 2002, faculty members have received almost $3 million in external funding to support research in this area.

Todd Jewell, right, professor of economics, will serve as director. Jewell says the center’s research programs will be far-reaching, covering all elements of the immigrant experience. The center’s research will not be strictly focused on Hispanic immigration to the U.S., but will instead examine the immigration experiences of populations in many different regions of the world. 

The center’s primary goal is to become a nationally recognized source and repository of immigrant-related research, and in the future to expand to include researchers from UNT Dallas and the UNT Health Sciences Center at Fort Worth.

“This center will be an asset not only to the university and its faculty, but also to the community at large. The center will support interdisciplinary research, encourage a higher level of scholarship and allow our researchers to answer important immigrant-related questions in a comprehensive manner,” says Wendy K. Wilkins, provost and vice president for academic affairs. 

Information about  H1N1 flu, is ubiquitous, likely to lead the news in any and all media outlets. This is a good thing, says Nann Goplerud, left, interim chair of the Department of News in the Mayborn School of Journalism.

“An event like the H1N1 flu outbreak is a perfect opportunity for the traditional news media to again demonstrate its importance to society,” she says. “The tone of the news coverage is critical in a situation like this - in print, on air and online. This kind of public health emergency is an opportunity for the media to show it’s not going to cause a panic, but instead create calm by providing expert advice from medical professionals, updated information on school closings, trends in the spread of the illness, resources about care and other information that will help consumers make choices about their health.”

That’s a comforting thought for parents, says Wendy Middlemiss, associate professor of educational psychology. News about flu-related deaths of children and teenagers may make it difficult for young viewers to understand flu news.

“Lots of kids are going to be frightened,” Middlemiss says. “You want to talk to them about their fears and discuss certain precautions. Keep it simple and factual. Don’t be overly histrionic.”

Staff Appreciation Week continues Nov. 2-6. Events include merchandise and food and merchandise discounts, retirement and savings fairs, health and wellness activities and training programs. Learn more below, or find a schedule (pdf).

Nov. 2, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Staff Contribution Awards announcement and reception, Gallery of Staff Talent, University Union, Silver Eagle Suites

Nov. 3-4
Training and Development Opportunities; register for these and other sessions:

• Listening Skills, Nov. 3, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Marquis Hall, Room 118
• Business Ethics, Nov. 4, from 1:30 to 3 p.m., University Union, Room 411
• Project Management, Nov. 5, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., Marquis Hall, Room 118

Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Retirement Savings Investment Fair, University Union, Golden Eagle Suite. Learn more.
http://inhouse.unt.edu/index.cfm?commentID=3629

Nov. 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
UNT Staff Health Fair, Chestnut Hall, Career Center; learn how to get on track to a healthy lifestyle. Staff Health Fair will include free information and screenings, demonstrations, snacks/drinks, raffles and door prizes. Local vendors will provide information.

Free access to Pohl Recreation Center, plus these classes (space is limited):
• Nov. 2-6 - Weight Room Orientation, from 12 to 2 p.m.; meet at the weight room desk and learn about lifting.
• Nov. 2 -Yoga I, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. and Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.; participants of all levels are lead through a class full of challenging postures and pacing.
• Nov. 2 - Cycle, from 4 to 4:45 p.m. and Nov. 6, from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m.; cycle class combines visualization techniques with music to enhance the ride.
• Nov. 3 - Step Aerobics, from 12:15 to 1 p.m.; challenging, high-intensity class involves stepping , upper body movements and stretching

Nov. 5
Staff Appreciation Celebrations; entertainment, food and fun; Gallery of Staff Talent, from 2 to 4 p.m., University Union, Silver Eagle Suites and from 12:30 to 1:30 a.m., Marquis Hall, Room 118

Nov. 6
Staff Appreciation Celebrations, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Discovery Park, near Jazzman Café, and UNT Dallas Campus.

Nov. 6
Fun Field Day, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., College of Business lawn
Gather your department teams and spend lunch hour enjoying some classic Field Day fun. Field Day will include tug-of-war, water balloon toss, hula hoop, dodge ball and much more! Games planned for all activity levels.

Staff Appreciation Week begins today (Nov. 2) with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. in the University Union, Silver Eagle Suites.

The week, sponsored by Human Resources, begins with service awards and displays of staff creativity. Staff Contribution Awards, noting employees who have contributed to the university’s success, will be announced. Staff reaching service milestones in November also will be honored.

Show your UNT ID to receive these employee discounts Nov. 2-6:

• College Optical Express - $15 off eye exams scheduled during Staff Appreciation Week and 25 percent off all frames and lenses
• UNT Dining Halls - $3 special price on all-you-can-eat
• Chick-Fil-A, Taco Bell, Einstein’s & Boar’s Head Deli - Half price Combo Meals
• Green Mountain Coffee Shop - Half price specials on all coffee or specialty drinks
• Freshen’s – Half price specials on all Frozen Yogurt, Smoothies, Ice Cream and Specialty Drinks
• Eagle Images Copy Center in the University Union – 15 percent off Kodak picture kiosk prints and 15 percent off color copies
• UNT Bookstore – 20 percent discount on UNT clothing and gift items

Other activities include:
• Training and Development Opportunities
• Retirement Savings Investment Fairs, Nov. 4-5
• UNT Staff Health Fair

Find a schedule of activities.

The Mean Green matched a school scoring record and won its first 2009 Sun Belt Conference game with a 68-49 win over Western Kentucky Oct. 31 at Fouts Field.

UNT scored 68 points versus Youngstown State College in 1957.

Quarterback Riley Dodge, left, accounted for seven touchdowns (42 points) with four passing scores and three running scores.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe visits Fouts Field for a 3 p.m. game Nov. 7. Come early, wear green, be loud stay late.

 

• Buy tickets for the Nov. 7 game, and the Nov. 21 game versus Army.
• Learn about the new football stadium.

Faculty, staff, dependents and retirees are eligible to receive an educational scholarship benefit that pays the UNT System Board of Regents designated tuition plus mandatory fees. Early enrollment for classes offered in the spring 2010 semester began Oct. 26 and ends Dec. 14. Applicants must submit information by the 12th class day which is Feb. 1.

Students must pay the $50 per credit hour state mandated tuition plus any instructional fees. Enrollment and semester credit hour numbers are key in determining how much funding UNT receives from the state for general operations. This means UNT will benefit from the employees who use the educational scholarship, as well as those employees who benefit from the financial savings.

Those eligible for the tuition benefit include: individuals affiliated with UNT; UNT-Dallas, UNT System, UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth; UNT Foundation; Professional Development Institute; and the UNT Alumni Association. Find an application or contact Student Accounting and University Cashiering Services at 940-565-3225.