Penn strives to make health and wellness the easy choice, both at work and home. That’s why, for the fourth year in a row, the University is rolling out its “Be in the Know” campaign.

Be in the Know helps full- and part-time benefits-eligible staff and faculty at Penn learn key indicators about their health—while seeing a financial perk in their paychecks.

“I’ve always been a firm believer that knowledge is power—and there is no more worthy knowledge to learn than that of your health and wellbeing,” says Chris Hyson, Penn’s senior health and wellness specialist. “It impacts everything in a person’s day—from your sleep, to your mood and mindset, to your interactions, and what you’re able to accomplish in a day.”

Be in the Know provides an opportunity for faculty and staff to get a biometric screening, which pinpoints key indicators of health status, such as blood pressure, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and blood sugar. The free screenings are administered by third-party professional organization AREUFIT. This fall’s 27 biometric screenings run from Oct. 5 through Nov. 20, and will take place at 14 different locations around campus. Exact dates and locations, as well as registration, are available on the HR website.

For participants who can’t make the fall screenings, Hyson says there will be a select number of biometric screenings on campus next year, before the campaign concludes in August 2016. The campaign is now year-round, so faculty and staff can sign up for Be in the Know at any time.

Beginning in December, participants can also take an online health assessment, which is a questionnaire giving personalized reports on current health and recommendations on how to improve it. The health assessment is available through StayWell, Penn’s wellness portal partner.

There is a $100 cash incentive (less applicable payroll taxes) for faculty and staff who receive both the biometric screening and take the online health assessment in the same campaign year.

The Be in the Know campaign includes bonus actions again this year, which provide additional opportunities for participants to improve their health, and receive even more cash incentives—up to another $80. Some examples of bonus actions include completing a dental, eye, or dermatology exam, receiving a flu vaccine, completing nutrition counseling sessions, and obtaining an annual physical during the campaign period.

The bonus actions are tallied by a new points-based system, Hyson explains, “so participants can choose any combination of qualifying activities and receive cash incentive awards for reaching certain point levels.”

Participants submit bonus actions through a downloadable form available on the HR website. The form will also be available to pick up at biometric screenings.

Last year, more than 5,500 members of the Penn community completed a biometric screening, and more than 5,000 completed both the screening and online health assessment (and received the $100 cash incentive). Of the 5,000-plus group, almost 2,200 participants went on to complete a bonus action.

Throughout the past three years, Be in the Know has reached more than 7,000 staff and faculty members at Penn, giving some—such as Penn Medicine’s Director of Fiscal Operations Jim Riley—a much-needed push to make a healthy change in their lives.