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Welcome to the January 10 edition of the EDU Newsletter!
We strive to pack each newsletter issue with the latest developments from around Education Service and this copy is no exception. Please enjoy!
If you would like to submit content for the newsletter, please contact the Stakeholder Engagement Team at EDUSTAENG.VBAVACO@va.gov. The deadline for the January 24 issue is January 19.
V/R,
Stakeholder Engagement Team
EDU Morale Workgroup survey is live!
The survey was created by the EDU Morale Workgroup to share ideas and learn which ideas EDU staff might like to see implemented. The goals include fostering better connections between management and frontline staff, building trust, and increasing retention.
The survey is open now and will close on January 24, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Please be honest in your responses. All submissions will be anonymous. The workgroup will not receive or be able to share specific employee information regarding the survey. We will share results with all EDU staff during the February all-hands. If you have any questions about this survey or the Morale Workgroup, please feel free to reach out to Katie Juhasz (workgroup lead): katherine.juhasz@va.gov.
Please note: If you completed the survey link shared in November 2022, you will need to take this new survey to have your input included.
Access and complete the survey here: https://forms.office.com/g/XeCbrQYWFw
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Education Service presented at SVA
On Friday, January 6, VBA Education Service hosted a GI Bill® session at the Student Veterans of America® (SVA) National Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, providing an opportunity for VA to connect with over 60 GI Bill students, school administrators and additional stakeholders.
During the session, the team shared information on the new, simplified Post-9/11 GI Bill application process, monthly enrollment verification, GI Bill comparison tool updates and the upcoming Enrollment Manager system for School Certifying Officials (SCOs). Afterward, attendees were able to connect with VBA leadership and get their benefits questions answered. Secretary McDonough shared, "The entire Digital GI Bill effort is working to make programs fit into your lives, rather than making you fit your lives into a program. It’s your GI Bill," he said, “you shouldn’t have to worry about decades old systems that stopped being used in the private sector before you were born. When it comes to VA services, you shouldn’t have to worry about if you get your payments." The team is looking forward to continue meeting with GI Bill students and SCOs at the upcoming GI Bill Roadshow stops later this year.
DGIB team hosts PI 10 planning
The Digital GI Bill (DGIB) team successfully facilitated Program Increment (PI) 10 Planning from January 4-6, 2023. Over 400 team members gathered virtually to plan and align on project activities for the next nine weeks.
During this session, the team reviewed progress made in PI 9 towards Release 5, including beginning User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for Enrollment Manager, implementing capabilities for Online Verification for Post-9/11 GI Bill Students and UAT for My Education Benefits for Transfer of Entitlement (TOE) original claims. Teams later transitioned into breakout sessions to plan priorities and deliverables for the coming weeks. Top priorities for PI 10 include Enrollment Manager, Benefits Manager and Approval Manager. The DGIB team is confident in its path of modernizing and improving the GI Bill experience for Veterans, Service members, their families and those who support the education benefits journey.
National Training Team- Processing
Welcome to 2023
As we start 2023, many are focusing on and working toward new personal goals.
What about work goals? Are you interested in making more of an impact? Find more meaning?
The course ‘A bold new approach to goal setting with Michael Bungay Stanier’ may be able to help. The course details state “A powerful goal can function as a map, compass, and a destination—all at once”.
The trainer, Michael Bungay Stanier, provides a new way to look at goal setting without all the familiar acronyms- SMART, KPI, BHAG and OKRs. This course may be helpful in one’s work and personal life.
Course Details
- Title: A Bold New Approach to Goal Setting with Michael Bungay Stanier TMS ID: NFED 7011372 Who: VACO STAFF
- Learn the three core elements of a worthy goal, as well as why you definitely need all three. Practice balancing what you want from a goal with what your organization demands. If you’re looking to create more impact and find more meaning in the work you do, this is the workshop for you.
- Training credit will count towards the NTC 24-hour requirement
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Privacy for Education Service
Mini Lesson #2: Protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or sensitive information while teleworking.
Just a friendly reminder from your Education Service Privacy Officers. Remember it is always your responsibility protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) while teleworking as outlined in Section VIII – Terms of Telework Arrangement para.19.
Some ways employees can accomplish this are by having:
- A current telework agreement in place, and
- Completing VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior, and
- Completing VA Telework Training Module for Employees
For questions, please contact your Education Service Privacy Officers:
Bertha L. Brown
Phone: (202) 461-9740
Email: bertha.brown@va.gov
Nnamdi Small
Phone: (202) 549-0292
Email: nnamdi.small@va.gov.
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Congratulations to Joshua Lashbrook
Congratulations to FedHealthIT100 2023 winner Joshua Lashbrook. This distinguaished award is presented to those who are making innovative moves in the area of Federal health IT. Joshua’s work in Digital GI Bill earned him the honor. He was nominated and selected by his peers which reflects the high regard he has in the IT discipline. See the full article here.
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Submit your content to be included in one of our newsletters
Did you know that EDU publishes five separate newsletters, through the Stakeholder Engagement team (SET)? This includes the Bi-monthly Student, EDU (staff) newsletter, SAA Quarterly, SCO in the Know and VET TEC Jobs.
If you would like to submit content for any of the newsletters, please forward your submission to the SET mailbox: edustaeng.vbavaco@va.gov. Be sure to include the newsletter that you are submitting for, along with the publish date in the subject line, e.g.: For Submission February 2023 SCO in the Know Newsletter. You can also include the POC when sending:
- EDU staff newsletter: Lewis Wilkerson
- SCO in the Know: Jill Thomas
- SAA, Student and VET TEC: Louiseza Sanderson
Please note that content will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Due to newsletter length, we cannot guarantee that all stories submitted will be published during the cycle. Staff is encouraged to submit early. The SET team may edit your submission to adhere to VA writing standards or other internal guidelines. Submissions must adhere to internal guidelines to be considered for inclusion—including deadline submission dates.
When submitting content, here are some things to keep in mind:
EDU Newsletter: staff bios should be 150 words or less
All other newsletters (not including EDU):
- Submission should be submitted in a Word doc, Arial 12-point font
- Word count of content should not exceed 250 words—about 175 words is preferred—the shorter the better.
- Ensure that links included are the actual link and not a safe link. External audiences may not be able to access a safe link.
- Submit at least one image (maximum of three images) to be included with your story content. Please include image(s) source(s). Examples of approved sources are other government websites and the EDU branding resources.
- Do not underline anything within your content. This helps to align with Section 508 For those using an assistive device, an underline may be interpreted as a hyperlinked item and could cause confusion. To emphasize a word or phrase, instead, use bold or italics.
- Similarly, do not highlight items. As this is not possible in GovDelivery our newsletter delivery system.
To help you stay abreast of the submission deadlines and when the newsletters will go out to stakeholders, please refer to the 2023 Newsletter Calendar.
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Quote of the Week
"Success isn't determined by how many times you win, but by how you play the week after you lose."
- Pele
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