Faculty and staff, here’s something to keep in mind when talking with students about spring quarter classes: Don’t forget online courses offered by other UC campuses — courses anyone in the UC system can take for regular UC credit.

UC Davis is among five campuses with online, cross-campus offerings for spring quarter, a total of 12 courses, including high-demand prerequisite courses in writing, math and the social sciences, and introductory courses in computer science and geography. More information on each course.

Cross-campus enrollment is not new; however, as of winter quarter, the campuses stopped passing paper forms back and forth, in favor of an online enrollment system. It’s for students enrolling in courses that originate on other UC campuses (students must use their home campuses' systems for courses that originate on the students' home campuses).

“It’s fantastic that our students have this new option to take courses online and interact with faculty and students at other campuses while making progress toward their UC Davis degrees,” said Carolyn de la Peña, interim vice provost of Undergraduate Education.

Each course is good for UC credit, and can potentially be good for general education, premajor or major credit, based on departmental and programmatic requirements (students must check with their departments for credit approval for GE and-or major requirements prior to enrolling in cross-campus courses).

New hours, new knowledge base for IT Express

Information and Educational Technology announced new hours for the IT Express Service Desk, effective Monday (March 3), along with a redesigned website with new functions, including chat support. IT Express also has created a new knowledge base, set to go live this Friday (Feb. 28).

IT Express is UC Davis’ central IT help desk, offering technical support services to faculty, staff and students. New hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays (except holidays).

The opening time is the same, but closing time is three hours earlier, based on the fact that IT Express receives very few calls after 6. The new schedule lets IT Express assign more consultants to the busiest hours of the day, according to IET’s TechNews. IT Express will still have extended hours during peak times of the academic cycle.

IT Express recently earned HDI certification for customer service — an industry benchmark that recognizes commitment to service excellence through use of best practices, enhanced skills and advanced knowledge.

Read the TechNews article. Contact IT Express by telephone, (530) 754-HELP (4357), or email, ithelp@ucdavis.edu.

Breakfast with the Chancellor

Staff Assembly is having Breakfast with the Chancellor. Well, not everyone in Staff Assembly, but five staff members a month, starting in May at the Chancellor’s Residence.

Interested staff members are invited to apply to be a guest at the first breakfast, Thursday, May 1, or subsequent monthly breakfasts.

“We encourage you to apply and share your ideas on how to improve processes, increase revenue, implement solutions to challenges experienced by staff, and more,” Staff Assembly Chair Lina Layikatez wrote in last week’s edition of Staff Voice.

More information, including the application form.

TGFS: Vendor and sponsors (and logo for next year)

Applications are due by April 14 for the Vendor Showcase that will be part of Thank Goodness for Staff, and for sponsorships for the annual event, to be held this year on Wednesday, May 7.

“Spend an afternoon with 5,000-plus UC Davis staff members,” Staff Assembly says on the application form.

Entries in the logo contest for the 2015 TGFS are due by April 21 (here are the rules), and voting will take place at this year’s TGFS.

Tawny LaBarbera, Information Technology Services, created this year's winning logo, inset. She won a $50 gift card and will get to see her logo on T-shirts and other promotional materials.

Bamforth’s Brewery Tours

UC Davis Extension Brewing is inviting friends of its Facebook page to tour the university’s pilot brewery — with Charlie “The Pope of Foam” Bamforth as tour guide.

Bamforth holds the Anheuser-Busch Professorship in Malting and Brewing Science in the Department of Food Science and Technology, and he also teaches at UC Davis Extension. He’s certainly got tour guide skills, as evidenced in a video that recently won a Taste Award. Read about the award and watch the video.

Two tours are scheduled: 3 and 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27. Space is limited, so, if you’re interested, you should sign up soon, via the Bamforth’s Brewery Tours event page (click on “Get Tickets”).

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