ultimate insider | november 2011

2 November 2011| The Ultimate Insider

As we approach the end of the year, UMA’s Executive Committee, its Leadership Team and I are beginning the process of planning and budgeting for 2012 and beyond. This year was one of rapid growth and significant change for UMA. We increased both our student base and our staffing levels rapidly while adjusting to and successfully navigating very significant changes in our industry.

We have had five primary focus areas for 2011. While there are many plans and details behind each area, in summary they are:

1. Meet and Exceed Compliance Requirements2. Ensure Student Success3. Achieve Financial Targets4. Achieve Operational Excellence5. Increase Revenue Diversity

We have been and are focused on achieving targets in each of the five focus areas within the context of our Mission:

• UMA provides its students with a superior education and the tools to succeed • We are committed to our employees • We promote health and wellness in the communities we serve • Financial stability and regulatory compliance are central to UMA’s mission

As we move into 2012 we will continue to grow our student population very significantly, but as we get larger the percentage rate of annual growth will be less, giving us more time to “catch our breath.” Our mission will remain the same and our goals will be similar with some evolution. As we work on evolving our plans for 2012, I wanted to share just one of the key highlights of how we will evolve our commitment to Student Success. In the past we have focused on ensuring that our students graduated and obtained jobs in their areas of training. Moving into next year and beyond we will be broadening that focus to proac-tively ensure students are successful in these jobs for years after they graduate. This effort will include adjustments to many areas of the student lifecycle and major outreach efforts post-graduation.

In supporting our Mission’s commitment to UMA employees, last month the majority of new staff and faculty, who had been at the company for six months or longer as of Septem-ber 1st, received an initial grant of UMA Incentive Units. Most of those who had been with us a year earlier received additional / follow-on grants. Lowell Lifschultz, UMA’s Chairman, and I created the UMA Incentive Plan to reward and motivate staff and faculty for their contribution to the long term success and growth of the organization. As we continue to rapidly develop as a leader in healthcare education in 2012 and beyond, we very much appreciate your ongoing efforts and dedication and hope this program is beneficial to you.

Steven KemlerChief Executive Officer

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Future UMA NEWS editions

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CONTENTS

From the CEO 2COO Business Update 4HR Zone 5IT Corner 6Breast Cancer Awareness 7Training & Development 8News & Updates 9Benefits Update 10Training & Development 11Employees of the Month 12Employee Anniversaries 13Military & Veteran Affaris 14Compliance Update 15HR Team Building Event 16Compliance Crossword 17UMA Visits MOSI 18Halloween at UMA 19

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Tampa, FL 33612

Clearwater Campuses:1255 Cleveland St Clearwater, FL 33756

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November 2011Volume 1 | Issue 3


In my last newsletter, I highlighted the im-portance of communication as UMA grows and we have made significant progress in this area in the last month. By now each of you should have received an email from me announcing the roll-out of our new company intranet, “The Scoop.” The site provides UMA employees with easy access to important information and resources, while bringing community engagement to life. Sharing information across depart-ments at UMA has never been easier. However, for this month I want to focus on customer service which becomes equally challenging as our business transforms from a start-up to a mid-size company.

It’s common knowledge that customer service is one of the most important parts of a company’s overall business strategy. Without customers you really don’t have a business. But if this is the case, why is it mostly everyone as consumers can easily mention dozens of examples of poor cus-tomer service in their daily lives? All of us have been put on hold for what seemed like an eternity, or gotten frustrated while trying to navigate through never-ending automated menu options trying to get a live representative on the line, or been transferred to multiple different customer service representatives only to be given a separate number to call because they can’t transfer you. Small companies are more likely to deliver better customer ser-vice than a large company because of its innate common sense and understanding of the power of empathy whereas custom-er service at large companies has devolved to long wait times, outsourced call cen-ters, standard operating procedures and scripted answers with artificial calmness.

There are exceptions to the rule - take the Walt Disney Company for example. Disney is the largest publically traded media con-glomerate in the world and pulls in over

$38 Billion in annual revenue. Yet, anyone who has been to Walt Disney World in Orlando has experienced their unrivaled customer service experience. With over 66,000 employees at this location and millions of visitors each year, this is no small feat. All Disney employees are cross-trained to answer any and all questions without sending guests to another source for help and even the parking attendants as you enter the park bid you farewell by saying “have a magical day!”.

As I look within our own organization, our customers include not only students but also employers, doctors, and healthcare organizations and I still see areas for im-provement across all departments. In the past few weeks, I have been working with department heads on various customer service initiatives such as call waiting times, abandon rates, inbound call greet-ings, email and voicemail response times. Good customer service is the foundation of any business and it provides a platform for continued growth and helps to build your businesses reputation. Good custom-er service is also about sending them away happy and satisfied so that they pass posi-tive feedback about your business along to others.

Please continue to look where UMA can make improvements and provide sugges-tions. As Walt Disney said, “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” Please help me continue our focus on improving customer service levels across the organization.

Oh, and have a magical day- David

David HighbloomChief Operating Officer

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As UMA moves into the month of November it is quite fitting that Veteran’s Day comes just before Thanksgiving Day. It gives us all pause to give special thanks to the people that made America what it is and to offer a special salute and thanks to our own military employees. Although Veteran’s Day (November 11th), is not a UMA designated holiday. It is a day to remember that freedom is something to be thankful for.

This year Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 24th. However, UMA also closes its office and campuses on Friday, November 25th. Although many holidays have a universal appeal, Thanksgiving is definitely an American only holiday, a time when reflection, giving thanks and massive amounts of food all come together. Consider some thoughts on the subject of Thanksgiving by these historical figures:

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appre ciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” - John F. Kennedy

“Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.” - Johnny Carson

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” - Irv Kupcinet

“On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment - halftime.” - Author Unknown

During this Thanksgiving season we want to also take time to thank each of our employees for all that they do each day and for their ongoing contribution to the success of UMA.

Tamela PuckettVice President of Human Resources

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IT CORNER

The Windows 7 pilot is off to a productive start with several of our subject matter experts (SMEs). This is be-ing expanded to a larger group, incorporating changes from our first pilot group. We appreciate the time and effort of our pilot team as we finalize preparation for the Windows 7 rollout.

The IT department is organizing company-wide train-ing sessions for Windows 7 and Office 2010. Mary Ann Cook will be conducting the training sessions. Every-one needs to attend as there will be significant chang-es to your Windows workspace and Office programs. The training sessions will also be available on the UMA Youniversity learning system.

MaryAnn Troianos Cook Support Team Engineer

EMPLOYEE REFERRAL PROGRAM

Don’t forget that UMA is always looking for quali-fied employees and appreciates recommenda-tions made by existing employees. If you recom-mend someone who is hired, you may be eligible to be paid an employee referral bonus. For those who meet eligibility requirements, this program currently pays $1,000 for full-time employee re-ferrals and $500 for part-time employee refer-rals. All employee referred must be hired into a regular status. Bonuses are paid after 90 days of employment in a Regular FT, LFT, or PT status. If you are interested in participating in this program, review the www.hireedsolutions.com website for a updated list of UMA job opportunities. Once on the site click on “job opportunities” and select “Florida” and then hit the search button. Send the job title and your referrals resume to Elise Li at [email protected]. If your referral is hired, you’ll also need to complete the Employee Refer-ral Bonus Eligibility Form (ADP Portal or ask an HR team member) and submit to [email protected] for review.

UMA WELCOMES 1000th EMPLOYEE

UMA is pleased to announce the hiring of Breanna Turner, Associate Registrar, as our 1000th employee. Previously a Registrar at Kaplan in Fort Worth, Texas, Breanna has re-located to the Tampa area with her family. She loves the palm trees and sunny weather and shares that it makes her feel as if she is on vacation every day! Breanna joined UMA on October 3rd and reports into Wanja Chomba, Di-rector of Online Academic Operations. Please extend a warm welcome to Breanna. We are excited that she has joined the UMA team!

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, UMA sponsored “Learn for the Cure” during the week of October 17, 2011. The week-long campaign was in-tended to promote awareness and early detection of breast cancer, while contributing funds toward breast cancer research. Ultimate Medical Academy will do-nate $1 towards breast cancer research, on behalf of each student who completed all weekly coursework, on time, between October 17 and 23.

“Learn for the Cure” wristbands were handed out to students on the Tampa and Clearwater campuses to kick off the week-long campaign. We’ve received a tre-mendous amount of positive feedback from our stu-dents, as well as some very touching and inspirational testimonials. You can view these on our UMA YouTube page.

This week, students, graduates, and friends of UMA have also been given the opportunity to raise funds for breast cancer research via social networking. Facebook users have been invited to share Wall posts or videos about personal breast cancer experiences. UMA has pledged to donate an additional dollar for every “Like” those stories receive. Check out the UMA Facebook Page to see what our students are saying.

With the help of our students, UMA has already raised $4,603 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the largest source of funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. As we complete our Facebook campaign this week, we are hoping to reach our goal of $5,000.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Event: Susan G. Komen - Breast Cancer Walk Date: October 1, 2011

Location: Vinoy Park, Saint Petersburg


TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

CORPORATE LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Corporate Training and Development has been focusing on the development of you as a UMA employee.

Tampa and Clearwater ground campuses, all of Student Finance, and OPFAR have taken advan-tage of several customer service courses offered through YOUniversity. These courses will help ensure the best experience possible to our students.

In addition, we have conducted multiple sessions of Interaction Client phone training for our parent and sister companies, Conversion Partners and NMTI. This training provided 60 staff members a better understanding of the intelligent phone system, how to monitor calls and maximize this valuable resource.

Corporate Learning and Development has connected with our newest unit, CCM, and intro-duced them to YOUniversity training. They have completed the Respectful Workplace Series and are gearing up for some of the additional professional development available from our library of over 4,000 courses. In November, we will be adding NMTI, and Conversion Partners to YOUniversity!

We have expanded New Employee Orientation to the entire Online and Shared Services orga-nizations and we will be including the ground programs in 2012.

We recently partnered with Human Resources to assist with the Harassment & Discrimination Free Workplace Training. We are partnering with our Information Technology group to roll training for our new computer upgrades to the Windows 7 OS and Windows 10 Applications.

As UMA’s student population grows so does the way we do business. It is important that UMA employees not only understand the student need but also be able to support them through the use of new technology tools that will provide better employee-student interaction. Watch for the upgrade to the online classroom in 2012.

Lastly, the Corporate Learning and Development department is in the process of creating more company specific learning tools such as Disaster Recovery, I3 Phone Training, Regulatory Train-ing, and UMA program specific training. With that said, you can expect more detailed informa-tion to come.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to send them to [email protected].

Penni FergusonOnline Learning and Development Mangager

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“Getting an education is like taking a vacation. Once you get it, no one can take it away from you”

Lois BrusvenHR Benefits Manager

JOKE OF THE MONTH

During a recent password audit by Google, it was found that a 13-year old girl was using the following password:“MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramen-to” When asked why she had such a long password, she rolled her eyes and said:”Hello! It has to be at least 8 characters long and include at least one capital.”

Jo Ann SchrockSenior Administrative Assistant

UMA SPORTS UPDATEUMA’s Soccer team are 1-2-2 and finishing up their sixth season.

Joining the UMA softball and soccer teams is a newly established UMA Vol-leyball team. Their season started off with a loss to the number one team in their division. Team Captain, Malik Tipsword, says that the team put in more than enough effort but the skills of the 1st place team were just too much to match.

Kyle McCary was the week 2 MVP by leading the team in scoring. Although they lost once again, team UMA battled to the bitter end.

In week 3, team UMA was defeated again but by only 2 points this time in what was considered one of the best games the Tampa Bay Club Sports had ever seen thus far. The game was very close when Denisha Green set Malik Tipsword up for the game winning spike, only to see it blocked and the opponent serve an ace to end the game.

We’re now in week 4 and UMA has another chance to come up with their first win of the season. Please come out on Saturday, November 5th, at 11:00 a.m. and cheer them on to their first win. Matches are held at the Post Card Inn on St. Pete Beach every Saturday Morning at 11am.

*Quote/Joke of the month winners received a $25.00 gift card. If you are interested in submitting for next month’s edition please send to [email protected]

Congratulations to the Compliance De-partment’s Auditing Division: Annie, Nancy and Maja reviewed more than 10,000 student files over the past few months

Thanksgiving HolidayThursday, November 24th and Friday 25th are paid holidays for all Regular Full-Time, Limited Full-Time and Part-Time employees, if the employee was regular-ly scheduled to work on those days.


There is a real opportunity of significant tax savings, for eligible employees and UMA. It’s called the Flexible Spending Ac-count (FSA) benefit. Depending on your individual tax bracket, employees can save up to 40% on payroll taxes, which will also contribute to a UMA tax savings. An absolute WIN WIN benefit for all eli-gible employees and UMA!

So, what is a Flexible Spending Account? FSA for short – is a benefit offered by UMA and there are 2 types of FSA’s: Healthcare and Dependent Care. Having a FSA is like getting a coupon for up to 40% off of mer-chandise and/or services you buy every day. Who would pass that up?

The Health Care FSA is designed to re-imburse you for eligible out-of-pocket health care expenses for you or your de-pendents (spouse and children). You will not pay federal income tax, Social Secu-rity tax and most state taxes (except for Pennsylvania and New Jersey). Some ex-amples of eligible expenses include co-payments, prescription eyeglasses, den-tal work, even aspirin and cold medicine. The Dependent Care FSA is designed to reimburse you for eligible out-of pocket dependent care expenses for your de-pendents, such as Daycare and After-School Care for your children while you are at work. If you’re married, your spouse must work, be a full-time student or be disabled. A dependent is defined as a child under age 13 (tax dependent) and a spouse or tax dependent who is men-tally or physically incapable of caring for himself.

Who is eligible to participate in FSA Open Enrollment? All current Full-Time Regular and Part-Time Regular UMA employees. When is FSA Open Enrollment? It be-gan on November 1st and will continue through November 15th, 2011. This

is your time to elect your annual goal amounts for the 2012 FSA plan year. So, don’t miss out! You should have already received an email with FSA enrollment forms and other information.

What are the maximum annual goal amounts? For the Health Care FSA, it is $2,500 which is a $1,000 increase from last year’s benefit. For the Dependent Care FSA, the amount is $5,000. A list of eligible expenses was also provided at the commencement of the enrollment period.

Will UMA offer a Health Care FSA Debit Card? The answer is YES! Those who sign up within the FSA Open Enrollment pe-riod will receive an initial FSA Debit Card at no charge. It will only work at mer-chants and pharmacies that appear on a list as IIAS Certified Merchants. Again, you should have received an earlier email containing more information about this card.

The key to getting the most from your FSA is to maximize your contributions based on the expenses you expect to incur dur-ing the 2012 FSA plan year. Once you start calculating, you may be surprised by how much of your healthcare costs are actually paid out of your pocket. It is important to remember that an FSA is not a savings account. You must use all of your contributions each year or risk los-ing any unused balance at the end of the FSA plan year. Base your contributions on what you expect to be able to spend on eligible expenses during the benefit plan year. So, join me and think like a health care consumer. Don’t miss out. Take ad-vantage of this fabulous tax saving UMA benefit!

Lois BrusvenHR Benefits Manager

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FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (FSA) OPEN ENROLLMENT

November 1st - November 15th

This department is headed by Senior Director of Online Operations Ray Wengender, and Andrew Santo, Operations Manager: Business Process and Analysis.

The Business Process and Analysis (BP & A) sector of the Online Operations Depart-ment is an integral part of UMA’s infrastructure. This department is responsible for developing and solidifying processes that help to shape the organization. The team is also responsible for the majority of the reporting for UMA, including Academ-ics, Student Finance, Career Services, Learner Services, Marketing, and other special projects.

Meet the Team: Andrew Santo is the Operations Manager for the BP&A team, responsible for Busi-ness Intelligence, Process Improvement and Data Analysis. Andrew has been with UMA for 2+ years, which has allowed him to be a part of the development of many of the processes and reporting used throughout the entirety of the online organiza-tion. Andrew continues to focus on improvements to help the business meet its financial goals while becoming a more effective and efficient company.

Kevin Crews, Operations Associate (Data), works on several special projects for Aca-demics, Learner Services, Career Services, Marketing, and other departments. He also supports UMA’s military initiatives, which is a good fit because Kevin is an of-ficer in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. Chris Campbell, Operations Associate (Process), works with Student Finance, with an emphasis on the stipend analysis reporting. Chris is also working with multiple departments to create and improve upon processes, including student finance pro-cess and reporting and academic operations process. Lauren DePanté and Dan Gaspar, Operations Data Analysts, are focused on the aca-demic reporting. Working alongside Andrew and the IT department, Lauren has de-fined and coded the reporting for the LMS and is heavily involved in the ongoing LMS Integration Project.

Anastasiya Osadchuk, Operations Reporting Analyst, concentrates on the Student Finance Analysis, for which she is reporting on the day-to-day evaluation and sum-mary as well as any historical analysis.

Bryan LaFavors is a recent addition to the BP&A team (joining them from OPFAR), reporting to Lauren, on academics and will be aiding her with new projects.

Ashley Jordan serves as a BP&A Coordinator. She manages the Re-Entry and Transfer student process. She has also worked on numerous special projects such as lead flow, career services reporting, and creative website development.

Ashley JordonBP&A Coordinator

WHO’S WHO BUSINESS PROCESS & ANALYSIS

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UMA EMPLOYEES

Faculty of the Month

TampaRon Samson is our September Faculty of the Month winner for the Tampa Campus. Ron is a “one of a kind” individual who always goes the extra mile for his co-workers. You can always count on him to cover your class and is extremely flexible while try-ing to accommodate instructor’s scheduling needs as he schedules their CPR, First Aid and Blood Bourne Pathogens course. Ron is also a great listener and his opinion is valued through-out the campus.

Clearwater:Bonnie McMurphey is our September Faculty of the Month winner for the Clearwater Campus. Bonnie was selected because of her ability to multi-task while not missing a day of work to ensure she is avail-able to cover three classes along with developing aca-demic strategies across the campus. Bonnie is on the curriculum committee to develop and update daily lessons; she handles coordinating all boot camps and proctoring certification exams for MA, Phlebotomy and PCT Programs. Bonnie also works closely with Learner Services to assist with the retention of the students and is always available to tutor students as a way to avoid attrition within the program.

We are extremely proud of these two Instructors and thank them for all of their hard work and dedication to not only their students but to their UMA Team as well.

Faculty of the Month

EMPLOYEE ANNIVERSARIES (SEPTEMBER)

4 Years of ServiceJill N. Sellers

Sr. Student Finance Planners

3 Years of ServiceKellie L. Baker

Instructor

Toni L. RiggsRegional Director Career Svcs

Steven R. ShafferInstructor

Mary E. WarfelInstructor

Rochele WeemsInstructor

2 Years of ServiceShelina M. MacArthur

Instructor

Suzanna E. NantaisLead Instructor

Joseph M. BellSystems Administrator

Bianca G. DelpheyInstructor

Matthew D. LambSenior Director of Admissions

Danielle L. LopesInstructor

Joseph T. McDermottDir, Ops-New Std Adv

Javier RamirezInstructional Design Manager

Laura SalvatoAssociate Manager

Zunaira SamadNew Student Advisor

Craig J. SmithAdmissions Advisor

Latora M. SmithAssoc. Director of Admissions

Faylee A. SnyderInstructor

Brian G. ValenciaSr. Facilities Associate

Linda L. WoodallInstructor

1 Year of ServiceElizabeth Accomando

Director of Student Finance

Valerie AdornoStudent Finance Processor

Tara M. AguilaStudent Finance Manager

Nakol P. BowmanSr. Fiscal Operations Specialist

Cynthia DialAdjunct Professor

Tracey A. EasonAdjunct Professor

Bridgette A. GavinLab Assistant

Jonathan L. HedrickInstructor

Lakithia HogensAdjunct Instructor

Earl L. JacobsAdmissions Advisor

Micheal P. JohnsonContinuing Stud Fin Advsr

Monica L. LawsonAdjunct Professor

Shannon L. LegrandLearner Services Advisor

Earnest S. LewisAdjunct Professor

Sherriylnn MagbyAdjunct Instructor

Teresa MartinezFulfillment Coordinator

Marie C. MoranAdjunct Instructor

Adrienne M. PadronStudent Finance Manager

Selam S. PremtajAdmissions Advisor

Linda QuandtAdjunct Advisor

Etta L. RahmingAdjunct Instructor

Trecia K. RobertsAdmissions Advisor

Ann SilviaAdjunct Instructor

MILITARY & VETERAN AFFAIRS UPDATE


In May UMA supported only 80 military students. Now, 6 months later we have grown to over 500 mili-tary/veterans & Family members attending UMA-on-line!!

What makes UMA military friendly?

UMA was selected as a “Military Friendly Institution” from GI-Jobs, a highly respected leader in the military and government education space as being in the Top 20% of more than 8,000 schools across the country.

Member of Service Member Opportunity College (SOC)

Approved by Department of Veteran Affairs to re-ceive all veteran education funding

Approved by Department of Defense military spouse scholarship program called, MyCAA

Approved DOD military tuition assistance funding aross all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces

Approved Yellow Ribbon institution which pays for any eligible veterans remaining balance

CLEP/DSST Credit Acceptance Follows American Council on Education (ACE) to prop-erly assess military training for transfer credit Special military pricing

Waived registration fee

Patriot Grant to cover the cost of books

Department of Military & Veteran Affairs

Dedicated Military Admissions Team Devoted Military Student Finance Planners Determined Military Learner Service Advisors Much more… to support service members, veterans and dependants considering UMA as a Healthcare school of choice

Brian BraggsDirector of Military Affairs & Gov’t Education

Mary Pat Sharer came to Ultimate Medical Academy in September, 2009 as Reg-istrar for the Clearwater Campus. She is currently our Q3, Employee of the Quar-ter.Ms. Sharer has an “open door” policy and gives quality time to the students in order to help meet his/her needs. As a registrar Mary Pat exhibits excellent recording keeping skills, and ensures the Clearwater Campus is in compliance ac-cording to the Department of Education and ABHES. She does this by adhering and applying the policies of UMA to the Clearwater Campus. In addition, Mary Pat is a team player helping out where needed on our UMA Campuses.

For her outstanding work Mary Pat also received the Outstanding Record Qual-ity Award for 2011 which was communicated during the September Education Summit.

CLEARWATER CAMPUS – EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER

If everyone and every culture, race and religion were all the same the world would be a very boring place. That is why diversity in a learning institution is so im-portant. Diversity enhances the learning experience for instructors as well as students. If the classroom en-vironment is limited to just one race, gender or culture the real world life experience of all would suffer.

My name is Gail Jones and my instruction at UMA con-tributes to the learning of both the younger and older student population. Since I too did return to school af-ter years of not attending, I can teach how to use life experiences to further their current professional en-deavors. This knowledge can also be an asset to those younger students that have not yet lived on their own or maintained fulltime employment. In turn those same young students can help me with imparting the academic skills that some older students might be lack-ing. Overall the college experience is complete when we have diversity on campus.

Instructors who teach on diverse campuses are chal-lenged as they have to ensure that learning is achieved by all. If the student population is limited than the in-structor does not have to maintain the ability to teach to various intellect levels. UMA’s Medical Billing and Coding program has a vast array of instructors with dif-ferent ethnic, academic and professional backgrounds. The students benefit from each instructor’s unique strengths.

Group assignments and class discussions are currently one of the main opportunities to observe UMA cam-pus diversity at work. The magnificent exchange of ideas and opinions amongst the students is refreshing. It is diversity. I always enjoy interacting with the stu-dents and they seem to enjoy me as well. My heartfelt love of learning and teaching are additional wonderful contributions to any schools diverse environment.

Gail JonesMBC Instructor

Ask FirstYou call us, you email us and you stop by because you trust our expertise. The UMA Compliance Department is your go to for what’s right and wrong in terms of of-ficial mandates, and together we troubleshoot issues that may impact our school’s accreditation.

There will be no laughs if UMA has a compliance issue due to a wrong action. In all seriousness, ask us if you are unsure whether a concern or approach is compli-ant.

Not so seriously, the Compliance Department looks back to times in our own lives when we wish we had done the right thing, or asked someone first. These instances do bring laughs and we’ve shared a couple for your amusement:

• Jan finished a timed typing test in record time, but received an F. Why? She had skipped past exam di-rections that said, “Sign your name now. Your test is complete.” She would have had an A had she only read directions. Jan Stanley, Compliance Director

• When Melissa wanted her Easy Bake Oven cake done fast, she put both the cake and its metal tin in the mi-crowave. Sparks flew and she had to wait until later to have her cake, and eat it too. Melissa Spielholz, Com-pliance Manager

• Natalie tried cooking some rice. When the pot didn’t boil, she took the rice out and placed it back in its con-tainer. When her Mom next opened the container, out wafted odor from 2 pounds of mildewed rice. Natalie Santiago, Compliance Specialist

• In attempting to color her hair from blonde to red, Nancy got bright pink hair much like her childhood her-oine, Jem from the cartoon Jem and the Holograms. Nancy Cruz, Compliance Specialist

• In college, Heather roomed with students from dif-ferent countries. Early morning, she needed tooth-paste and didn’t want to wake anyone to ask about a tube with foreign text on the bathroom sink. It smelled like toothpaste. It wasn’t. It ended up being something else in it’s entirety. Heather Fortson, Compliance Spe-cialist

WHY IS DIVERSITY IMPORTANT?

COMPLIANCE UPDATE

The Human Resources Department took some time out of the office in early October for a Team Building event. A departmental vote put us at Splitsville for lunch and bowling. I’m not sure why we called it Team Building…this was a competitive event! It was complete with taunting, in-your-face celebrations and frankly, some bitterness on the losing side. Team Regina (Regina, Nao-mi, Kim and Brenda) showed poise, grace and less than spectaculare bowling skills. Team Lois (Lois, Sonja, Toni and Tamela) showed a fiery spirit, enthusi-asm and only slightly better scores! All-in-all, it was nice to be out of the office as a Team and to get re-energized for a busy 4th quarter! (Scores: Lois-123, Regina-102, Brenda-97, Tamela-78, Sonja-76, Naomi-65, Toni-64, Kim-63.)

HUMAN RESOURCES TEAM BUILDING EVENT


Congratulations to Human Resources Manager, Sonja Rosario, for being selected for the HR Q3 Achievement Award. Sonja was selected for her dedication and contribution to the ground campuses and received recommendations from CP/NY, Tampa, and Clearwa-ter campus management. In addition, she received compliments and kudos from the rest of the HR team.


Recently, the Online Admissions Management Team took a trip to the MOSI Sky Trail Ropes Course. Initially, when I opened the invite for the Rope Course, I thought how bad could it be and immediately responded with “yes!”

As I walked up to the structure, I saw my colleagues scattered throughout the large blue structure somewhat resembling a jungle gym. From the ground, 36 feet did not appear to be so high. There were no railings for them to hold on to just small platforms and various ropes either hanging from the top or to the side. I saw my colleagues gripping the ropes for balance while their bodies were dangling in the air and realized that the challenges were a little wobbly. It was hard to believe the only thing that was protecting them from the ground was a rope no larger than a belt! Some individuals were walking throughout the structure with such ease and grace as if this was not their first time. There were others taking their time to determine the best tactic to make it across the skinny beams.

From below, it appeared to be easy enough, so I went for it. At just 12 feet, it took me a moment to calm my initial nerves and find my balance. It was beneficial to have a couple others with me during the course as they cheered and offered verbal support as I completed the various obstacles. I had the oppor-tunity to be alongside someone who was extremely terrified of heights. It was amazing to see someone overcome their fears and make it through what she might have thought was impos-sible.

The experience allowed many of us to conquer qualms of heights, gain a sense of balance, and strengthen our team uni-ty. The adrenaline rush that you experience during one plat-form to another is indescribable although it could possibly be described as a Rocky moment!

Leticia Ramirez Director of Admissions-Military

ONLINE ADMISSIONS TEAM BUILDING EVENT

UMA VISITS MOSI

HALLOWEEN SPIRIT

ultimate insider | november 2011

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