Yakeshia "YaYa" Jenkins has been named employee of the third quarter by the U of A Global Campus for her work on a multi-departmental team that launched a new system tailored for non-credit educational offerings.

That new system, an instance of Slate for non-credit education, powered a new public website, registration system and connection to a learning platform for U of A Professional and Workforce Development. Slate—a customer relationship management system that integrates processes previously handled across multiple systems and manual processes—revolutionized the campus' ability to promote non-credit educational offerings, register learners, seat learners in courses and simplify reporting.

Jenkins, a web developer on the Marketing and Communications team, applied her exceptional coding experience and can-do attitude to help the team overcome complex challenges in the development of the non-credit instance of Slate.

Leonard Ridley, manager of web design services for Global Campus and Jenkins' supervisor, said, "YaYa played a pivotal role in the success of the PWD Slate implementation project. Her ability to meet critical deadlines and provide thoughtful, data-driven solutions was key to positioning the project for a successful launch. Her skill in managing both the creative and technical components—from developing wireframes to handling complex data queries—demonstrates an exceptional combination of versatility and precision."

Jenkins accepted the award from Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education and head of the Global Campus, at an October staff meeting.

"I made a commitment to step outside my comfort zone and take ownership of the work I've often done quietly behind the scenes," Jenkins said. "This recognition reflects the growth that comes from embracing challenges and trusting my expertise. It was a humbling moment, but also one that made me truly proud of how far I've come."

Jenkins' work primarily involves improving and maintaining Global Campus websites and addressing back-end software issues that filter, sort, hide and show information, and developing dynamic landing pages that provide a customized interface for the users. She also assists with email marketing.

Co-workers who nominated Jenkins said her intensive work on the Slate project was instrumental in its successful launch in March 2025.

"Many people worked diligently to launch the PWD Slate instance," one person who nominated Jenkins said. "YaYa really stands out because of her expertise and her willingness to go above and beyond."

Jenkins has worked part time for various colleges across the U of A campus since becoming a student in 2013. She started as a part-time web designer at Global Campus in September 2019 and moved into a full-time position in March 2020. She was first named employee of the quarter at the Global Campus in 2021. She received her Bachelor of Arts in computer science at the U of A in 2020 and her Master of Science in network technology with a concentration in web technologies from East Carolina University in summer 2024.

The Global Campus awards the employee of the quarter to recognize outstanding achievements and accomplishments that relate to the unit's goals and the U of A mission. The award recipient receives a commemorative certificate and a monetary award. The four quarterly awardees may then be eligible to become the Global Campus Employee of the Year.

Other third quarter nominees include:

• Abi Moser, Blackboard support coordinator, Learning Technology Support
• Colleen Whitman, online student support manager, Innovation and Online Student Experience

The Global Campus supports the U of A academic colleges and schools in the development and delivery of online degree programs and courses and workforce development programs. This unit provides instructional design services, learning technology support, media production services and assistance with financial administration, recruitment and marketing.

The Global Campus also supports the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship, which is open to undergraduate and graduate students studying in online degree programs.