The Annual Benefits Enrollment period is October 2–27, 2017. This is the only time you can make changes to certain benefits without having an eligible life event (for example, marriage, birth, or divorce) or qualifying employment change during the year. Learn about your benefits options for 2018 at upcoming seminars for UW–Madison employees, to be held at locations across campus beginning October 4. Some sessions will be offered in Spanish, Hmong, Tibetan, and Chinese. No pre-registration is required. Also, mark your calendar for the Employee Benefits and Resource Fair on Tuesday, Oct. 17 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Union South. Watch for details about this event.

Less than two weeks remain for UW–Madison employees to complete the required online training in Preventing Sexual Violence and Harassment. All UW–Madison employees are required to complete this training by Sept. 30. This training will help all UW–Madison faculty and staff members recognize, prevent, and respond to sexual assault and sexual violence in the workplace. Once enrolled, an employee may take the training in one session or in chunks, stopping and resuming as they choose. Most employees complete the program in about 60 minutes. In-person training is available to employees who are unable to access the training online or who require training provided in Spanish, Hmong, Tibetan, Nepalese, or Chinese. Employees who are made uncomfortable by the training content can schedule an individual meeting with the Employee Assistance Office (EAO) for an alternative training on a confidential basis.

Faculty and staff are invited to a celebration of shared governance at the Employee Shared Governance Reception on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 3–4:30 p.m. in Varsity Hall at Union South. This event recognizes employees’ contribution to the vitality and excellence of UW–Madison. Faculty, academic staff, and university staff are involved in a full range of governance opportunities, helping to guide decisions regarding academics, research, campus climate, diversity, and more.

Top Hat is the campus-supported student response system that can help instructors engage students in the classroom with polls, quizzes, bias assessment, and more. It is now integrated with Canvas for ease of use when grading. Register now for the Sept. 25 or Sept. 26 trainings being offered by the DoIT Academic Technology consultants, or read more about the pedagogical uses of Top Hat.