Draft Minutes

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

10:00 am – 12:00 pm

By audio conference

 

Jeri Cary, Vice Chair, moderated the meeting in the Chair’s absence.

 

1.          Call to Order and Roll Call                                                     

            http://gov.alaska.edu/home/who/staff/

 

            Jeri Cary, UAS Staff Council, Vice Chair

            Jana Ring, UAS Staff Council

            Lori Merdes, Statewide Administrative Assembly

            Bob Kizer, UAA APT Council

Maya Salganek, UAF Staff Council

Kim Stanford, UAA Classified Council

Jeff Stepp, UAF Staff Council

                        

            Others Present:

 

            Jodi Bailey, Administrative Coordinator, System Governance

 

2.         Adopt Agenda

            http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/agendas/2006/05-09.htm

            http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/agendas/2006/05-09.pdf

 

MOTION:  Moved by Jeri Cary, seconded by Kimberly Stanford, passed without objection.

 

“The Staff Alliance moves to adopt the agenda for May 9, 2006 meeting.  This action is effective May 9, 2006.”

 

3.         Approve April 4, 2006 minutes                                                

http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/minutes/2006/04-04.htm

http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/minutes/2006/04-04.pdf

 

MOTION:  Moved by Maya Salganek, seconded by Jeff Stepp, passed without objection.

 

“The Staff Alliance moves to adopt the minutes from the April 4, 2006 meeting.  This action is effective May 9, 2006.”

 

4.         Chair’s report

 

            No Chair report was given.

 

 

5.         Public Comments

 

            There were no public comments

 

6.         Staff Governance Reports                               

 

UAA

http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/governance/classified/

            http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/governance/apt/

 

Kim Stanford discussed last week’s meeting where Rich Whitney gave a presentation on the new voice-over IP system for telephones.  She also stated that UAA is having their Staff Development Day tomorrow and Mike Humphrey will be there to discuss the new FY07 benefit rates.  The Classified Council is also working on creating a voter registration drive during the summer.  Stanford will continue as President for the Classified Council and Melodee Monsoon will be the new Vice President.  Kim stated that the Assembly met on the 13th, delaying the Assembly officer elections until the fall because they’ve had difficulty sending information to employees.  GERs (general education requirements) are being discussed by the group, to try to simplify the transferring of credits between the UA campuses.

 

Bob Kizer stated that the APT Council met with the Diversity Council to discuss what topics were going to be brought up this fall.  Mike Humphrey discussed open enrollment and the start of the new Walking Program.  Bob was also was re-elected as President for the APT Council.

 

            UAF

http://www.uaf.edu/uafgov/staff/index.html

 

Maya Salganek reported that Staff Council met on the 19th of this month.  Nick Town presented his thesis on the evaluation process of staff on campus.  Of the 1000 surveys Nick sent out to staff, 315 people responded.  The majority of them were female and this also included supervisors.  The survey brought up a discussion on campus on how evaluations are created and delivered to staff.  He found that it depended on the employee and the supervisor as to how well evaluations are received and how beneficial they can be.

 

Salganek also informed the group that Jake Poole and Steve Smith attended the meeting to discuss the security breach that took place in Bethel.  The Council suggested to Steve to have an open forum for questions and concerns to be brought forward, and Smith denied the request.  He referred questions and concerns to the website that had been created for the purpose.

 

Dana Thomas is sitting on the accreditation review board and the review board has suggested that the University create a staff handbook.  The VCAS (Vice Chancellor of Academic Services) position is currently being recruited for and Salganek attended the interviews on behalf of the Council.

 

Jeff Stepp stated that the preliminary decision had been made regarding the Director of Faculty Staff Development and there should be an answer shortly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

UAS

http://www.uas.alaska.edu/staffcouncil/

 

Jeri Cary reported that Mike Humphrey updated the group on the new FY07 benefit information.  Michael Ciri also joined the meeting to discuss the security breach that occurred this month in Bethel. 

 

SAA

http://gov.alaska.edu/saa/

 

Lori Merdes reported that SAA met on the 12th and decided on a statewide nominee for the Staff Make Students Count Award.   Joe Hayes also gave a legislative update where they discussed in length the SJR 20/HJR 32.

 

Open enrollment was also discussed in length as well as the proposed travel regulations.  The new walking program became active on May 1st and has received an extraordinary response, so much so that the Human Resources department ran out of pedometers within the first week.  The employee awards occurred at the end of April where employees were recognized for their outstanding service to the University.

 

7.         Legislative Update                                                                             

            http://www.alaska.edu/swbudget/budget_planning/budget_docs/new/redbookfinal1.06.pdf 

 

Joe Hayes stated that the capital budget is quite large and as of now, UAA will receive the science facility they requested.  UAF will receive the maintenance funds they requested but they will not receive all the project money they requested.  Joe informed the group that all budgets will be determined tonight since today is the last official day of session.  The legislature will also hold a special session which will begin May 10th. 

 

8.         Employee Relations

 

            8.1        Mike Humphrey, Director of Benefits

 

                        See below.

 

            8.2        NORP – New Optional Retirement Plan                              

                        http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/2006-02.Retirement-System-Revision-BORreference-2.pdf 

 

Mike Humphrey stated that the Human Resources is working with Mercer to discuss the possible healthcare vehicle for NORP.  They are also considering changing the name from NORP because it will no longer be new once July comes. 

 

            8.3        FY07 Employee Healthcare Costs & COLA                          

                        http://www.alaska.edu/hr/benefits/open_enrollment/index.xml

 

The FY07 healthcare costs were lower than previously anticipated, and it is being attributed to the new wellness plan which is believed to have resulted in a lower amount of health care claims this year. All the open enrollment information has been sent out to employees and is also obtainable on the benefits web site.  Open enrollment ends May 19th.

 

            8.4        Start Walking Program                                                           

                        http://www.alaska.edu/HR/StartWalking/

 

                        Mike Humphrey reported that within one week, the 1000 pedometers that had been ordered were already handed out.  He has already requested more to be ordered but it will take time.  The statewide help desk has been fielding questions with the technical aspect of the new program helping users log on.  He also stated that he is still looking at the option of getting a Wellness Plan Coordinator through a vendor because he would like someone who lives and breathes the program to create new ideas.

 

8.5               Director of Faculty Staff Development Recruitment

                                                                                               

Jeff Stepp stated that the background check is being done on the candidate the committee chose and he should know the candidate’s start date soon.

 

9.         Business Council Meeting

 

            9.1        ACAS update                                                                          

                        http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/AAS_Status_Summary.pdf

 

Maya Salganek stated that a lot of money had been invested into the on-line UAK jobs and People Admin and they have received negative feedback.  Salganek would like there to be another form of recruitment to help with individuals from the rural sites.  She stated that the museum usually receives 60 applicants for their summer positions and as of now, has only received 11.  She would like the training to be standardized across the state to help with this problem.  Salganek also believes it is discrimination against individuals who are not as technically inclined as others and it eliminates the ability to reach out to the rural sites.  She would like the system to be more accommodating.

 

Jeri Cary stated that UAS feels the same way and that the program is only as good as the training and support that is offered by their local HR department.  Kim Stanford said that she believes it is getting better at UAA and the training is standardized on their campus.

 

Lori Merdes stated that she likes how the employees are able to see their own position description online because there is no confusion between the supervisor and the employee.

 

            9.2        Budget Development                                                             

                        http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/budgetcorrespondencetoBOR4.06.pdf

http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/Memo_Board_Budget_Development_Schedule_Internal_Review-2.pdf

 

                        There was no discussion of this item.

           

            9.3        Mercer Reports                                                                       

                        http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/MercerIntro.pdf

                        http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/Mercerreport2005_FINAL.pdf

 

                        There was no discussion of this item.

 

           

            9.4        Tuition Notice                                                                       

http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/Tuition_Notice_Spring_2006_FINAL_041404.pdf

 

Cary would like to discuss the reasoning for the increase and Stanford would like to know what formula is used to determine the tuition increases.  Salganek stated that she would like the formula as well and suggested the University consider offering an incentive to students who stay after the increase to help with retention. 

 

            9.5        UA Needs Based Program                                                      

http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/UA_Needs_Based_Program_update_050206.pdf

 

                        There was no discussion of this item.

 

10.        Update on Governance Regulation                                                     

            http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/projects/2006-01-20.governancereg.pdf

 

Kim stated that the regulation is currently at a standstill awaiting feedback from the President and his staff.

 

11.        Agenda items for next meeting, June 13, 2006

 

            Agenda items will include tuition formula development and Human Resources online

            recruitment.

 

12.        Other items of interest

 

            Cary stated that the UAS-Juneau commencement was broadcasted and is located on the main UAS website.

 

13.        Comments

 

            There were no additional comments

 

14.        Adjourn

 

            The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 AM