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NMSU employees are encouraged to attend one of the informational meetings scheduled April 18^th – April 20^th to learn about changes to medical/prescription and dental plans effective July 1, 2012. Registration is not required to attend a meeting. This year will be an open enrollment for medical/prescription, dental and vision plans.

Your attendance at one of the information meetings is strongly encouraged as the State of New Mexico is adding a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with an optional Health Savings Account (HSA). Representatives from the medical/prescription and dental carriers will be presenting information on their respective plans and changes for the 2012-2013 plan year. For those employees unable to attend, an online web presentation will be available on the NMSU benefits website on April 20, 2012. A link will be sent out via NMSU e-mail when the presentation is available.

Meetings are scheduled for:

Open enrollment for medical/prescription, dental and vision benefits will be available from April 16, 2012 through May 8, 2012. Enrollment will take place via the NMSU benefits website.

Additional information will be available on the NMSU benefits website http://hr.nmsu.edu/benefits-hr/ beginning April 16, 2012.

Open Enrollment for Medical Coverage Options:

• Add coverage for yourself and/or your dependents
• Change coverage from your current carrier to another medical carrier
• Drop coverage for yourself and/or your dependents

Open Enrollment for Dental Coverage Options:

• Add coverage for yourself and/or your dependents
• Drop coverage for yourself and/or your dependents
• Change coverage type (i.e. Family coverage to Employee only coverage, etc.)

Open Enrollment for Vision Coverage Options:

• Add coverage for yourself and/or your dependents
• Drop coverage for yourself and/or your dependents
• Change coverage type (i.e. Family coverage to Employee only coverage, etc.)

If you plan to add eligible dependents to your coverage, you will be asked to provide supporting documentation to verify eligibility if the dependent is not already covered on other NMSU insurance plans. Details regarding the acceptable documentation can be found on the Benefits website at http://hr.nmsu.edu/benefits-hr/benefits-eligibility/.

Vendors offering the 403(b) and 457 annuity plans will also be on campus Wednesday, April 18^th in the Aggie Underground located on the first floor of Corbett Center, directly below the Auditorium. Representatives will be available to answer questions regarding retirement savings accounts. Attendees may visit anytime between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. Appointments are not needed.

Enrollment/change deadline is May 8, 2012. All changes made through the online enrollment are effective July 1, 2012. Online enrollment will be available beginning April 16, 2012.

Questions about all benefit programs should be directed to the Benefit Services department at 575-646-8000 or benefits@nmsu.edu.

Click here to be directed to the Open Enrollment webpage.

Exempt evaluations must be complete by Thursday, May 31^st at 5:00 PM. Please be sure to start your evaluations early enough to allow time to schedule the review meetings with your employees. Supervisors must meet with their employees individually, then following the meeting, the supervisor must route the approved evaluation to his/her employee for signature/acknowledgement. Forms are considered to be fully complete when the employee has clicked on the Sign/Acknowledge button.

For more information on the evaluation process and schedule go to http://hr.nmsu.edu/employee-relations/performance-management/evaluations/.  If you have questions, please contact Employee and Management Services at (575) 646-2449 or hr-ems@nmsu.edu.

Benefit Services, with the support of the Benefits Advisory Committee, is proud to announce a new discount savings program. Effective March 1, 2012, NMSU employees and retirees have the opportunity to purchase everyday items at a discounted rate through an online discount savings program. NMSU has contracted with Motivano to provide discount savings through SmartSavings. Founded in 1999, Motivano provides technology solutions that deliver convenience and cost-savings. In the last 5 years, over 4,000 companies and government organizations have signed on with Motivano. Clients include numerous Fortune 500 and government employers, such as Wells Fargo, CVS, Target, Chick-Fil-A and Time Warner, as well as Cornell University, Arizona State University and Villanova University.

What is SmartSavings?
SmartSavings is the largest and most successful online member discount marketplace in the United States, providing millions of members access to thousands of popular brands. SmartSavings offers discounts from brands such as Dell, Disney, Target, Costco, Wyndham, Avis, Sephora, Urban Outfitters, Express, Ann Taylor, AMC Theatres and Cirque Du Soleil. Currently there are over 800 national vendors contracted through SmartSavings. Members can also opt-in to receive the monthly Smart Shopping newsletter or new offer email alerts.

Employee Benefits:

• Exclusive discounts on everyday purchases
• New brands and deals added every week
• Request your favorite brands to be added to the site
• Opt in for watch list and new offers alerts
• Secure online shopping
• Live customer care support

NMSU employees and retirees will be able to login to the discount purchasing site through the benefits website at http://hr.nmsu.edu/benefits-hr/discounts/. Participation is voluntary and free. Employees/Retirees can participate at any time, without any established deadlines. If you have questions about this benefit program, or need assistance with logging in, please call 575-646-8000 or e-mail hrhelp@nmsu.edu.

Need more information or have questions? See the Performance Evaluation webpage for staff at http://hr.nmsu.edu/employee-relations/performance-management/evaluations/

NMSU Benefit Services is pleased to announce that AFLAC, an industry leader in voluntary employee benefits, has been contracted to provide Critical Illness benefits to NMSU. This benefit is a voluntary option available to regular employees working 20 hours or more per week.

Critical Illness coverage provides lump sum cash payments for covered employees and their dependents if they are diagnosed with conditions such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, and major organ transplant.  In addition, there is a health screening cash benefit applicable to one health screening test per year.

Coverage Options:

• Employee Coverage is either $10,000 or $20,000.
• Spouse/Domestic Partner Coverage is 50% of employee coverage, either $5,000 or $10,000.
• Eligible Dependent Child Coverage is 25% of the Employee Coverage and is provided at no additional cost.
  • Children can remain covered until their 26th birthday; coverage as of the 26th birthday is available for children qualified as disabled.

Employee coverage elected during the initial enrollment process is guaranteed for employees actively work.

The enrollment period will be from February 13, 2012 through March 2, 2012. Employees can enroll in this benefit through the NMSU Benefit website at http://hr.nmsu.edu/benefits-hr/financial-security-benefits/critical-illness-insurance/ . Employees who do not enroll by the deadline will have the opportunity to request a late enrollment, however approval is not guaranteed.

If you have questions regarding this benefit, or need assistance with logging in, please contact NMSU Benefit Services at benefits@nmsu.edu or 575-646-8000.

What is Training Central?
NMSU Training Central is a unified catalog of professional development and training offerings available to NMSU employees and affiliates.

Why Training Central?
The goal of Training Central is to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of training and professional development opportunities to the NMSU community. Current partner organizations including the Teaching Academy and the Center for Learning and Professional Development will provide learning opportunities through Training Central beginning in January 2012. Additional partners are slated to participate later in the year. Learners may begin registering in the new system starting on December 19, 2011 by visiting trainingcentral.nmsu.edu.

Training Central Benefits
Some NMSU Training Central benefits include the ability to:

• Browse an extensive catalog of training offerings
• Register for instructor-led and self-paced training offerings
• Print certificates of completion and transcripts
• Search an extensive collection of training documents, tutorials, and job aids
• Subscribe to frequently referenced documents in order to be informed when document updates occur
• Plan your training activity with personalized development plans

If you have any questions, please contact training@nmsu.edu or visit training.nmsu.edu for updates.

Proposal information:

• NMERB Director’s Statement Rule 3
• Existing NMERB Rule 3
• Comment Draft of NMERB Rule 3

Rule 2 Information added 12/22/11:

• NMERB Director’s Statement Rule 2
• Comment Draft of NMERB Rule 2

Comments should be e-mailed to ERB-memberhelp@state.nm.us by close of business on February 13, 2012.

• One-Time Payment Memo to Employees from President Couture
• One-Time Payment FAQs