"New" Planned Program Areas for FY2015

In an effort to streamline our Extension Plan of Work with our Division of Agriculture Strategic Plan and our federal plan of work, we have renamed the planned program areas in AIMS. The content of our programs has not changed, but where goals and objectives are located has. You will find the content of each planned program area below:

FY2015 Planned Program Area Contents

Access to Safe & Nutritious Foods

GOAL# 1- Foods & Nutrition

GOAL# 2- EFNEP

GOAL # 3- Food Safety & Food Preservation

Agricultural Production & Processing

GOAL#1- Animal & Animal Products

GOAL#2- Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness

GOAL#3- Plant & Plant Products

GOAL #4- Agricultural Awareness

Community & Economic Development

GOAL# 1- Business Development

GOAL# 2- Community, Regional & Leadership Development

GOAL #3- Public Policy

Environment, Climate & Energy

GOAL# 1- Natural Resources & Environment

Opportunities for Families & Youth

GOAL# 1- 4-H Youth Development

GOAL# 2- 4-H Volunteer Development

GOAL #3- EHC

GOAL #4- Health & Aging

GOAL #5- Family Life

GOAL #6- Family Economics

SNAP-Ed

GOAL# 1- SNAP-Ed

As you start working in AIMS, feel free to contact Diane Mashburn with any questions you may have. dmashburn@uaex.edu or 501-671-2351

Problems Uploading Impacts? Last minute tips

Ok guys, if you are trying to upload impacts today here are a few last minute tips:

-Make sure your impact's name has NO SPACES. AIMS doesn't like spaces.

-If it just sits there and doesn't seem to be loading, first make sure you clicked on the "upload/replace" link after you have selected your file and then if you did that, you may have to compress your pictures because the file is likely too large. Instructions for that is here:  http://aimshelp.blogspot.com/2014/09/problems-with-your-impact-not-loading.html

-Also, if you have more than one impact in a single program area (i.e. 2 SNAP or Ag impacts), you will either need someone else in the county to upload the 2nd one for you or email the 2nd one to aimshelp@uaex.edu so we can get it in there. AIMS only wants one impact per person per program area.

Need more help? I'm here until AIMS closes at 4:30 pm, so email me at dmashburn@uaex.edu or call at 501-671-2351 (leave a message if I don't pick up because I may be on the other line).

3 Days Left!

Only 3 days left for FY2014 AIMS data entry!

Remember AIMS will be closing at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 5, 2014. 

As a reminder, I have attached the impact template and how to pull end of the year reports tip sheets. Impact Templates can be downloaded from the MISC Extension Templates page. 

Support will be available until 6 p.m. tonight, Friday, October 3rd.

LIMITED SUPPORT will be available on Saturday and Sunday.

If you have not logged into AIMS recently, please check your password before the end of the day. The IT Call Center can assist you with password issues. 

Have questions about AIMS, the impact template, or reporting in general?

Password or Log-In Issues? Contact the Call Center at 1-866-779-3375 or callcenter@uaex.edu.

We are updating the AIMS Help site as issues/questions come up. http://aimshelp.blogspot.com/.

Please sign up for updates, if you would like to receive notifications of new content.

If you have any questions regarding where to put data in AIMS, a computer issue, or a general AIMS question, email aimshelp@uaex.edu or contact Diane Mashburn at 501-671-2351 or dmashburn@uaex.edu.

Don't know how to find indicator data to enter? Contact the specialist listed for the objective under which that indicator falls.

NOTE:

IPOW development and approvals are not going to be available until AIMS is reopened next week.

AIMS will be closed at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 5th, and will be reopened by October 8th.

Please remember NOT to report any of your October numbers until AIMS opens back up. 

Only 5 days Left to Enter Data into AIMS

Less Than One Week Left! 

The end of the program year is today, which means ALL program data (time, contacts, indicators, impact reports, etc.) are due into AIMS by 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 5, 2014. AIMS will then be closed until October 8th.

Support will be available until 4:30 p.m. today through Thursday and additional support will be available until 6 p.m. on Friday, October 3rd.

LIMITED SUPPORT will be available on Saturday and Sunday.

If you have not logged into AIMS recently, please check your password before the end of the week. The IT Call Center can assist you with password issues. 

Have questions about AIMS, the impact template, or reporting in general?

Password or Log-In Issues? Contact the Call Center at 1-866-779-3375 or callcenter@uaex.edu.

We are updating the AIMS Help site as issues/questions come up. http://aimshelp.blogspot.com/.

Please sign up for updates, if you would like to receive notifications of new content.

Instructions and impact template files can be found on the Program and Staff Development Impact page http://uaex.edu/support-units/program-staff-development/program-evaluation/impact.aspx. 

You can also access template files at http://www.uaex.edu/extension-policies/templates/misc.aspx (MISC 097). 

If you have any questions regarding where to put data in AIMS, a computer issue, or a general AIMS question, email aimshelp@uaex.edu or contact Diane Mashburn at 501-671-2351 or dmashburn@uaex.edu.

Don't know how to find indicator data to enter? Contact the specialist listed for the objective under which that indicator falls.

NOTE:

IPOW development and approvals are not going to be available until AIMS is reopened next week.

AIMS will be closed at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 5th, and will be reopened by October 8th.

Please remember NOT to report any of your October numbers until AIMS opens back up. 

Problems with Your Impact Not Loading?

Is your Program Impact not wanting to load? It may be one of two problems:


First, is it a naming issue?
If the system is giving you a message about only wanting letters, numbers, or underscores, double check that there are no spaces in your file's name.
So if you named your impact FY2014 ANR Arkansas.pdf the system will not take it, so go ahead and either take out the spaces and make it FY2014ANRArkansas.pdf or change the spaces into underscores to make it FY2014_ANR_Arkansas.pdf. Either one of these versions will be accepted into AIMS.


Second, is the system either taking forever uploading or even giving you messages that it's timing out, the connection was reset, or you cannot view this page?
This may mean your file is large, which can be fixed by condensing your picture.
This is very simple to do:
-Locate the picture file you will be using in your template.
-Right click on the file, go down to "Open With...." and select "Microsoft Office 2010" or "Microsoft Picture Manager."
-Once in the program, click on "Edit Pictures" and a menu will come up on the right side of the screen.
-Click on "Compress Pictures" and then select compress for "documents."
-Click "Apply" and then use "Save As..." to rename your picture (this keeps you from losing your original picture file".
-Once you are finished, when you close the program, it will as if you would like to save changes, click "don't save" so you do not lose your original file.
-Go back into your impact template and insert the new compressed picture(s).
-Save the edited impact.
-Upload the finished impact into AIMS.



If neither of these tips help and you still need assistance with the impact templates, contact Diane Mashburn at 501-671-2351 or at dmashburn@uaex.edu.

UPDATED: How Much is a Volunteer's Time Worth?

I am hearing that many of you are working on your impact reports and starting to take a look at your year as a whole. One great indicator is the amount of volunteer time has been contributed to your programs and how much that time is worth.

This year, the amount an hour of volunteer's time is worth has been adjusted. So please use this figure in all your reports and impacts that you create.

For FY2014, one hour of volunteer time in the state of Arkansas is worth $22.55. 

The value of a volunteer's time is calculated by Independent Sector, which is a Washington, D.C. think tank who establishes a dollar value of a volunteer's time and the Arkansas Division of Community Service and Nonprofit Support (a division of DHS) utilizes this figure.

So please use this figure in all your reports and impacts that you create. If you have any questions about the current figure, feel free to contact Program and Staff Development at 501-671-2086.

Can't Get Your Report to Show Up? Try These Tips!

Trying to pull your AIMS reports to see what exactly you've done during the last 12 months, but AIMS isn't working? 9 times out of 10, it's your browser's pop-up blocker. Here are a few images to outline how to turn off your pop-up blocker depending on what internet browser you are using:
Google Chrome:

Mozilla Firefox:

Internet Explorer:

Note: Internet Explorer has been having problems with AIMS, so if turning off the pop-up blocker on IE does not work, please try using Chrome or Firefox. 

If you still have problems with your reports, please call Diane Mashburn at 501-671-2351 or email her at dmashburn@uaex.edu. 

End of the Year is Coming Up Quick!

The end of the program year is this September 30, 2014, which means ALL program data (time, contacts, indicators, impact reports, etc.) are due into AIMS by 4:30 p.m. on October 5, 2014!

If you have problems with where to put what in AIMS, a computer issue, or anything about AIMS in general, contact Diane Mashburn at 501-671-2351 or dmashburn@uaex.edu.

If you are having problems with your SNAP-Ed reporting, contact Mary Poling at 501-671-2212.

Password or Log-In Issues? Contact the Call Center at 1-866-779-3375 or callcenter@uaex.edu.

Don't know how to find indicator data to enter? Contact the specialist listed for the objective under which that indicator falls.

Reminder IPOW Due Today & August Reporting Due Friday!

Remember we have two deadlines this week!

• Today- September 3rd- All county agents and PA's must have their IPOW in AIMS and submitted to their supervisor for approval
• Friday- September 5th- Reporting for August is due

If you have any questions about creating and/or approving IPOWs after referring to the resources linked within the blog, contact Diane Mashburn at 501-671-2351.

FY2014 Impact Templates Uploaded and Ready to Use!

It's time to put your program impacts on display with our updated FY2014 Impact Report Templates! 

Remember:
-Each county is required to have at least 1 impact report submitted for each program area.
-All impact reports must be uploaded into AIMS by 4:30 pm on October 5th.
-Counties do have the capability to upload more than 1 impact report within a single program area (i.e. for ANR, you can submit a hort impact as well as a livestock impact).

Impact Templates have been uploaded to the Extension MISC Templates Page and the Program & Staff Development Impact Page.

We have created two resources to assist you in working within the impact templates.
Using the FY14 Impact Template- video
Using the FY14 Impact Template- PDF

If you have questions about the impact template, contact us in the Program and Staff Development Office at 501-671-2086. If you have questions about content to put within the various sections of the impact template, please contact your program leader.