Just as the new school year gets into swing and your desk is flooded with a fresh stack of paperwork, the October 1 Health Care Reform deadline zeros in on your to-do list as well. On the positive side, this deadline shouldn’t be additional paperwork that you need to sort, file, and complete. However, it is something you need to address with your faculty and staff—so, yes, there is some paperwork that needs to be distributed as employees return.

New health care reform deadlines are nearing. While some schools are well prepared, others are still scrambling to understand how the changes will impact them. It’s true, the changes will effect schools somewhat differently than they will effect large companies. These differences are not clearly outlined on available government documents. If you’re not keeping up with latest news or don’t have a broker on top of the evolving definitions of what is considered full time and part time in the education world, you could be lost.

Social media isn’t just for the young. It’s for everyone. It’s a resource for keeping in touch with friends and colleagues, news, and of course, trending topics. Twitter is one of the social giants—growing daily—that is exceptionally good at all of the mentioned. If you’ve felt a void with losing your RSS feeds, Twitter is a great compromise with its daily trending topics and constant evolving conversations. If you’ve neglected your account or only dabbled here and there finding yourself frustrated with the unique lingo, we encourage you to take some time this summer and explore the platform some more.

Joining ISM a few years ago, I was immediately tossed into learning our theory. As any great organization will do, ISM wanted me to completely understand its mission and theory, and sample firsthand the concerns and mindset of its audience.

The financial aid season is winding down, if not over for the 2013-2014 school year. You might be left wondering if your Financial Aid Committee made the best decisions possible. If you’re questioning the decisions made and the ease of transition of your financial aid software’s formula to your records and accounting software, then this summer might be a good time to shop around.

Q: Two years ago, we promoted someone who had been an excellent teacher into a Division Head role. Unfortunately, he has struggled mightily in the role—he seems unhappy, and the faculty is quite upset with what feels like a state of paralysis in the division. He’s supporting a large family, so I know it would be hard for him to give up the substantial raise that went along with the promotion. What should we do?

It’s summertime! In honor of the season, we want to leave our readers with some healthy tips for enjoying the great outdoors. No matter what region you live in, these green living tips from WebMD will help you stay safe while exploring and relaxing outdoors, save money on your cooling expenses, and make a dent in your carbon footprint.

As spring has turned to summer, we hope that you are enjoying a more leisurely pace—one that permits both renewal and reflection. The relative calmness of summer often allows one to sit back and ponder developments that have occurred in the past year, and to look forward to what might be on the horizon come September. It is in this reflective frame of mind that we would like to share a few thoughts on ways to improve your HR practices once school is back in session in the fall—most particularly, through the use of very brief surveys.

A recent study by Aflac reveals that Americans aren’t prepared for the Health Care Reforms created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As many organizations and companies are choosing consumer-driven health plans, and the responsibility for health decisions requires more patient accountability, workers are being put at risk of making costly mistakes without a financial back-up plan.

As most of you wrap up the school year and get ready for some down time (maybe some professional development with ISM?), we thought you’d might like a little roundup of interesting tips, stories, and products we’ve run across.