Each week, Communique will be highlighting a series of campus wins, accomplishments and accolades. Please explore the list below to check out what other teams are up to, and help celebrate their good work!
Have something to add? Please reach out to University Communications with your submission!
Auxiliary Services
- The UCCS Campus Store launched the Textbook Affordability and Access Program (TAAP) in 2023. TAAP participation is now at an over 82% participation rate and has saved students approximately $6 million over the last four semesters.
- The Family Development Center was recently awarded the 2024 Gold for Best Child Day Care in Colorado Springs by the Colorado Springs Independent.
- The William Stanley Foundation awarded the UCCS Farm a $4,200 grant to support educational programming, infrastructure and the farmer’s market.
Budget and Planning Office
- The Budget Office recently completed compiling efficiency data for Fiscal Year 2023-24 for reporting to the Regents. Through a variety of innovative actions, UCCS saved the campus and individual college and units almost $2.4 million last year, in addition to saving students $3.23 million through the TAAP program.
- A few of the specific departments involved in developing and implementing efficiencies in Fiscal Year 2023-24 include Facilities, which will save about $560,000 in utility costs annually by optimizing building scheduling and HVAC sequences, and an additional $48,000 in annual savings from completing energy and sustainability reporting in-house, rather than using an external consultant.
- Human Resources shortened the job posting duration and administrative effort by reducing time-to-fill by over 52%, minimizing candidate loss and saving an estimated $260,000 annually. The campus saved $139,000 in personnel and operating expenses from consolidating functions and reorganizing teams.
- The Office of Information Technology saved over $26,000 annually by transitioning from physical phones to Teams phones.
Campus Police/Department of Public Safety/Emergency Management
- The Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management together established collaboration with Colorado Springs Police Department and Colorado Springs Fire Department for the upcoming campuswide lockdown drill.
- The Department of Public Safety secured a $2,000 donation from the Colorado Fallen Hero Foundation to help support the family of fallen Officer Garrett Swasey travel to Police Week in Washington, DC, for the tenth anniversary of Officer Swasey’s death. Sargeant Lisa Dipzinski will represent the UCCS Department of Public Safety and join the Swasey family in Washington, DC to honor Officer Swasey. Locally, UCCS Police will sponsor a commemorative paver through the Pikes Peak Regional Peace Officer’s Memorial Fund in honor of Officer Swasey and participate in the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony and the Pikes Peak Region Peace Officers Memorial Service. Both local events will be held in May.
Institutional Research
- Institutional Research participated this week in the systemwide project kickoff for Data Governance Phase 4A. This process will help Human Resources, Research Administration, and areas for Finance (General Ledger) bring in terms and definitions from their areas to the CU-wide Data Governance effort, streamline processes, and more robustly collaborate with our other campuses on the data itself. This event included presentations on the overall project and guiding principles for CU Data Governance, plus some level-setting and team-building activities with representatives from all campuses and the system.
Office of Research
- The Office of Research has just launched a new tool to help faculty, staff and students find external funding. Pivot-RP is a web-based suite of tools used to identify funding opportunities and potential collaborators across all disciplines. It is freely available to all faculty, postdocs, staff, and students at UCCS.
- UCCS has renewed our membership with the Engagement Scholarship Consortium. This resource provides professional development, networking and grants to faculty, staff and graduate student doing research, scholarship, and creative works that have societal impact.
Graduate School
- Graduate student enrollment continues to be on an upward trajectory. Spring semester graduate student enrollment was up 5.8% from the previous spring.
- The annual 3-Minute Thesis Competition, hosted by the Graduate School, was a big success. Graduate students from Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, Cybersecurity, and Computer Science participated in the competition.
- The winners included:
- 1st Place: Julia Bradshaw (PhD student, Psychology): College Intimate Partner Violence Victimization: Examining Moderators of Individual Risk, Advisor Dr. Heather Littleton
- 2nd Place: Zara Kenigsberg (PhD student, Psychology): Potential Effects of Intimate Partner Violence Disclosure Experiences on Mental Health Outcomes, Advisor Dr. Steven Bistricky
- People’s Choice Award: Bonnie Rushing (PhD student, Security): Understanding Disinformation Consequences, Advisor Dr, Shouhuai Xu
- The first-place 3MT winner, Julia Bradshaw, will go on to represent UCCS at the Colorado state and Western Association of Graduate Schools 3MT competitions this spring.
- The winners included:
Excel Centers
- The Excel Centers are expanding their Instructional Associate program that embeds tutors in key lower-level classes. Instructional Associates are trained Excel Centers tutors who work with students both in and out of class and support greater rates of students’ successful course completions.