year one info

1. Let Sara know you accept this position by signing, dating and filling out your offer letter (see info in yellow). 

   • Your signature should be an actual signature–it should look like mine. If you don't know how to do this, you can do some online searching (though this might be a good spot to start, or here if you're an iPhone user). 

   • Thanks in advance for returning the signed document with the same file name and with any remaining highlighting removed.

2. Complete this short survey 

3. Add ONE of the following orientation meetings to your calendar:

   • Add F, September 5, 9-9:45 am CT meeting invite/info to your calendar

   • Add T, September 9, 8-8:45 am CT meeting invite/info to your calendar

4. Reach out to your supervisor ASAP, asking about: 

   • any paperwork that may need to be completed ahead of your September 15 start date

   • when your deployment orientation will be 

   • what your planned deployment hours (5 hrs/wk) should look like (i.e. when should they occur between M-F, 8am-5pm CT? Are there regularly-scheduled team meetings I should attend? Are some weekdays busier than others? When can I be the most helpful?)

5. Add your course schedule and proposed deployment hours (occurring M-F, 8am-5pm CT) to your UMN Google calendar, giving your deployment supervisor "View" access. 

6. Bookmark and carefully review the deployment site, tips for students page, FAQ page and the important dates page. 

In addition to a deployment site orientation, I suggest scheduling weekly check-in meetings with your supervisor, especially during fall semester. Even a brief weekly meeting will provide you with the context you need to best understand your role and activities, provide you with structured opportunities to ask questions and allow supervisors to provide timely feedback. If they need to cancel your weekly meeting, review their calendar and offer up an alternative time/date.

• If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know immediately. I’m here to support you, so please let me know how I can do so.

• There are many opportunities for you (and your deployment teams!) to submit work to conferences, including:

  • UMN SPH Practice Day (October 30)

  • UMN CHIP leadership conference (fall)

  • UMN Women’s Health Research Conference (winter)

  • Public Health Conference of Iowa (spring)

  • Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) annual conference (spring) 

  • UMN SPH Research Day (spring)

  • Minnesota Public Health Association (MPHA) annual conference (spring)

You and your supervisors will receive a mid-year evaluation from the Center in December or early January to check in, and an end-of-year evaluation as you wrap up the 2025-2026 academic year. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

You may also be looking for tax info, which you can find here.

• Timecards: Center positions do not require the submission of time cards through the UMN/OneStop. When you're logged into your MyU portal, you may see a notification that tells you to submit your time. This is an auto-generated notification for students who are in the UMN's HR/payroll system. You can ignore it.

• Pay: 

  • You have fixed pay, meaning your paycheck contains the same amount every paycheck. You are responsible for tracking/adjusting your hours to ensure you average/make up your weekly hours, including during breaks, etc. (see below).

  • The pay period is 14 days in length, and you will be paid bi-weekly (every other Wednesday). If you start on September 15, your first paycheck should be October 1 but please use OHR's payroll calendar to confirm. 

  • Payroll & HR contacts:

    • Payroll/Paycheck questions: Contact Kelly at epichpay@umn.edu.

    • HR questions: Contact Cecilia at sph-hr@umn.edu

• Vacation, Sick Time, Holidays & Breaks: 

  • Deployment positions are not eligible for sick leave or vacation. You are responsible for tracking/adjusting your hours to ensure you average/make up your weekly hours.

  • There is no break in employment during holidays, winter or spring break. You'll continue your work during winter break (December 19, 2025-January 20, 2026) and Spring break (March 9-13, 2026). 

• Student Spotlight & MCHSIG Questions: Contact Charlotte Stow (mch@umn.edu), copied here.

• Conference, Travel & Poster/Presentation Prep Support: Contact Sara at sbenning@umn.edu.

• Deployment Google Site: Bookmark and visit often for the answers to your questions.  

• Attendance at a Center-hosted virtual deployment orientation 

• Attendance at 4 Center-or MCHSIG-hosted events/year

• Completion of a Student Spotlight. Center RA Charlotte Stow, copied here, will touch base with details early this fall. 

• Citing the funding source for your position. Funding for the Center is generously provided through HRSA’s MCH Bureau (MCHB). Should you have any products (website, toolkit, info sheet, report, video, training, etc.) resulting from this deployment, please cite using MCHB’s language.